SABC at 50: From national connector to survival mode

Fifty years ago, television arrived in South Africa, but when it did, it mattered. It informed, entertained and, for millions, connected them to the country and the world beyond it. Half a century on, that promise feels badly frayed.

According to Duncan McLeod, editor of TechCentral, the problems at the South African Broadcasting Corporation didn’t arrive suddenly. They were years in the making.

A broadcaster hollowed out by politics and money

McLeod traces much of the institutional damage to the Zuma era and the tenure of former COO Hlaudi Motsoeneng, a period marked by political interference and managerial chaos. But governance failures are only part of the story.

The SABC’s funding model, he argues, is fundamentally broken. TV licence compliance has collapsed to around 10% to 12%, with many households refusing to pay for a service they no longer watch.

Enforcement is weak, advertising revenue is shrinking, and the broadcaster has become trapped n a cycle of financial crises and Treasury bailouts.

At the same time, competition has exploded. Traditional rivals like DStv and eTV are no longer the main threat. Global streaming giants with vast budgets now dominate viewers’ attention, from Netflix to Amazon, Apple and Disney. In this market, the SABC is losing both audiences and advertisers.

Trying to be everything — and failing at most of it

One of McLeod’s sharpest critiques is that the SABC is trying to do too much. It wants to be an entertainment powerhouse, an educational platform and a public service broadcaster all at once, without the resources to do any of them well.

His solution is blunt: the SABC should shrink and refocus. Fewer TV channels, fewer radio stations, and a clear, ring-fenced public service mandate, properly funded and protected from political pressure.

Without that reset, the broadcaster will remainstuck in permanent survival mode.

Still relevant — but not for everyone

Despite everything, McLeod doesn’t argue for shutting the SABC down. Its radio services, in particular, remain vital in rural areas where mobile data is expensive, and streaming platforms are simply out of reach. For many South Africans, radio is still the primary source of news and information.

But relevance is shifting fast. Younger audiences don’t sit in front of a TV schedule. They consume content on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and on-demand platforms. While the SABC does publish online, McLeod questions whether this is being done strategically or merely as an afterthought.

The uncomfortable truth is that public broadcasting as it currently exists may not survive another decade without radical change.

The future, if there is one, lies in leaner operations, credible journalism, and meeting audiences where they already are — on their phones, not theirlounge walls.

Fifty years after television began in South Africa, the SABC’s challenge is no longer about signal coverage or studio lights. It’s about deciding what it is for — and whether it can still justify its place in a media world that has already moved on.

For more information, listen to McLeod using the audio player below.