SABC and SENTECH Reach Temporary Solution to Ensure Continued Broadcasting Amid Financial Strain

The Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies, Solly Malatsi recently convened a meeting between the leadership of the SABC and Sentech to find a solution that enables roughly 3 million South Africans to continue enjoying access to radio and television services. 

These South Africans were at risk of being cut off from news and entertainment if SENTECH switched off select signal transmitters due to the non-payment of services by the SABC. This would have left many poor South Africans, mostly in rural areas and small towns, shut off from the world. As many households cannot afford subscription services and rely almost exclusively on SABC services for news, educational content, and entertainment. 

The agreement initiated by the Minister between the senior leadership of the SABC and SENTECH, the signal distributor for the South African broadcasting sector, is that the latter will not switch off the public broadcaster for at least the next two months while we are exploring options to have a long-term sustainability model for the SABC. 2 These options include National Treasury’s decision on the application by the SABC to reclassify its grant which would allow for part of its allocation to be used to pay SENTECH for signal distribution services. While the SABC has been making steady progress towards improving its financial standing, the fact is that it has not been able to fully pay SENTECH for services rendered.