The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has reported that less than 20% of South African households are paying their TV licence fees.
Image: Karen Sandison/IndependentNewspapers
The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has reported that less than 20% of South African households are paying their TV licence fees.
The public broadcaster shared this information while briefing the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) on Wednesday, during a session focused on its audit outcomes and financial performance.
SABC CEO Nomsa Chabeli told the committee that the cost of delivering the public broadcasting mandate remains significantly underfunded, forcing the organisation to rely heavily on commercial revenue.
"It's important to note that when we have discussions about the SABC's financial sustainability, we remember the cost of the public mandate that is currently unfunded. The SABC, from a commercial perspective, takes commercial revenue to fund the public mandate that's our current model." Chabeli said.
She pointed out that less than 20% of households in South Africa are paying for TV licenses, a situation that has led to a steady decline in funding for the public broadcaster.
"55 % of our mandate costs are funded, and they are funded by declining license fees, so in South Africa, less than 20% of households that should be paying for a TV license actually pay for a TV license.
"Unlike globally, in the BBC, for example, where you have more than 80% compliance, at the SABC, in terms of our commercial structure, 83% of our revenue comes from commercial activities and 13% of our revenue comes from TV Licenses, and that money keeps on declining year on year," she said.
Chabeli pointed out that it is difficult to get people to pay for TV licenses, especially those who purchase new devices.
"What we're seeing is that people who are purchasing new devices actually don't pay for TV licenses, and it's very difficult to make them pay because there is no legislation that forces them to pay."