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Is This the End of the SABC TV Licence? South Africa’s Public Broadcaster Faces a Tipping Point

Published

2 months ago

July 17, 2025

Chiraag

TV licence South Africa 2025, SABC Bill updates, SARS TV levy, car disc renewal TV licence, Solly Malatsi communications minister, Khusela Diko SABC Bill, Philly Moilwa household levy, Joburg ETC

The end of an era or another delay?

If you’ve been dodging those TV licence letters from the SABC for years, you’re not alone. In fact, you’re part of the 86% of South Africans who didn’t pay their licence fee in the past year. Now, in 2025, it’s become clear that the long-troubled system is heading for a reckoning.

For more than a decade, the public broadcaster has been bleeding cash. Its financial state has been labelled “dire” by government officials, and after multiple false starts, the Department of Communications has issued a call for help, a request for proposals to finally replace the outdated TV licence model with something sustainable.

What’s actually going on?

On 11 July 2025, Communications Minister Solly Malatsi addressed Parliament during the Budget Vote debate and confirmed the department had officially published a request for proposals to build a new funding model for the SABC.

Why now? Because the current system is failing, spectacularly.

The SABC only collected R741 million in TV licence revenue last year, despite billing nearly R5 billion. That’s a staggering R4.3 billion lost due to non-payment, according to its latest annual report. The reality is that the people still paying are mostly older “legacy” licence holders. Young viewers? They’re not bothering to register at all.

The TV licence law is from 1999, and it shows

The funding crisis has been years in the making. The law that governs the SABC, the Broadcasting Act of 1999, is completely out of step with how South Africans consume content today.

To address this, a new SABC Bill was introduced to Parliament in October 2023. But instead of solving anything, it stalled. By November 2024, Malatsi attempted to withdraw it, calling it ineffective. That move sparked political backlash, particularly from Portfolio Committee chair Khusela Diko, and the withdrawal couldn’t even be gazetted.

Fast-forward to 2025, and the Bill is still in limbo, despite renewed promises to finalise it by June. As of mid-July 2025, it’s still gathering dust.

So what could replace the licence?

Here’s what’s actually on the table, or at least being floated:

1. Household levy (everyone pays, whether you watch or not)

This model is based on Germany’s Rundfunkbeitrag and would apply to every household, regardless of whether they consume SABC content. SABC’s head of policy, Philly Moilwa, has repeatedly backed this idea and even suggested that SARS could collect it.

2. Streaming service tax

Malatsi proposed this as a conversation starter in early 2025: a small levy on local and international streaming platforms like Netflix, Showmax, or YouTube Premium. The goal? Compensate the SABC for the audience shift.

But his spokesperson, Kwena Moloto, was quick to clarify that this is just one option being explored, not official policy.

3. TV licence tied to car disc renewals

In one of the more controversial ideas, Malatsi suggested bundling SABC licence fees into vehicle licensing, similar to how traffic fines block your licence renewal. He argued that since all cars are registered on eNatis, the integration could be seamless.

The public reaction? Mixed, to say the least. Social media erupted with concerns over yet another cost being added to car ownership. Others joked, “What’s next, TV tax on airtime?”

4. Increased TV licence fees (for the few who still pay)

In the meantime, the SABC has proposed raising the existing licence fee. But this move would mostly affect the small pool of South Africans still paying their dues, the so-called “legacy” viewers. For everyone else, it’s business as usual: don’t register, don’t pay, don’t worry.

That fee hike is unlikely to happen anytime soon, though. It would require legislative amendments, a long public consultation process, and political consensus, none of which appear imminent.

So… is the SABC TV licence ending?

Not yet. But it’s close.

The Department of Communications is clearly laying the groundwork for a replacement. The request for proposals is the strongest step yet toward finding a funding model that matches 2025 realities, where most people stream, skip SABC entirely, or don’t see why they should pay for something they don’t watch.

And with even MultiChoice publicly rejecting any plan to collect fees on SABC’s behalf, it’s clear the broadcaster is running out of easy fixes.

Local voices: Frustration and fatigue

On social media, South Africans are vocal. Some say the SABC should earn support by producing better content, while others express concern that the “TV tax” might sneak into everyday services like car renewals or fibre bills. The shared sentiment? “We want value, not force.”

A popular post on X (formerly Twitter) reads, “Fix the content, fix the funding. Why must we pay for a service we don’t use?”

Others support the household levy model if it ensures stable news and educational programming, particularly for low-income families without streaming access.

The SABC’s future funding will likely depend on what comes out of this request for proposals. If a compelling model is found and adopted, the TV licence as we know it could finally be scrapped.