Thinus Ferreira
According to the struggling South African public broadcaster's latest 5-year strategic corporate plan its SABC2 and SABC3 TV channels will remain loss-making, while it plans a pivot to position its streaming service SABC+ as its "flagship platform going forward".
The technically insolvent SABC plans to spend 86% more in 2026 on consultants and legal fees,239% more on market research and 260% more on production expenses.
Meanwhile two of its three main TV channels - SABC2 and SABC3 - will continue to run at a loss, with SABC1 that has to carry the weight of "subsidising" the two loss making channels.
This is also the reason why the SABC is more hesitant to tamper or change the SABC1 schedule and programming line-up, and more willing to do that with SABC2 and SABC3.
With no further bailouts forthcoming from the South African government, the SABC is looking at other possible resources, including signing a loan with the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) in 2026 to produce new content.
The interest on this loan, should the SABC sign a deal with the IDC in 2026, will amount to R29 million.
"The biggest challenge that we've got is that really our inability to fund compelling new content," says Nomsa Chabeli, SABC CEO. "Our assets are deteriorating. For example, the SABC has not been able to install new lifts in 55 years."
Nomsa Chabeli says the SABC has been slow in monetising SABC+ as its streaming service but the broadcaster is pivoting to generate more money through SABC Plus.
"We are looking going forward that SABC+ is going to be a standalone business unit in its own right with dedicated resources because to compete in the streaming world, we really need to focus and be more deliberate on how we take this to market and monetise this."
According to her, streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime don't just make money from new content, but also by purchasing old programmes from other broadcasters.
"The catalogue is very critical and we are going to ensure that we exploit it not just for ourselves but then be able to license it globally to other streaming services."
The SABC aims to grow SABC+'s registered users to 1.4 million this year, to 2.2 million in 2027 and 3.1 million by 2028. It currently has about 850,000 registered users.
Tendai Matore, SABC acting chief financial officer, says the public broadcaster is planning on an increase of 86% to R127 million in "professional fees" due to a drastic increase in the money spent on consultants, audit fees and legal fees.
According to him, the SABC also plans to increase production expenses by 260% to R29.6 million, with an increase of 208% to R98.9 million in the cost of new media productions.
The SABC's total marketing costs next year will increase by 33% more than the current forecast.
Most of this spending is allocated for the SABC radio division for "awards shows", like this past weekend's 19th Metro FM Music Awards, which is "income-generating" according to the broadcaster.
The SABC is also forging ahead with setting up its own satellite-TV project, similar to MultiChoice's DStv but more aligned with eMedia's Openview where a customer buys a decoder once, with no subscription fee to get access to a set of free TV channels.
Kathutshelo Ramukumba, SABC chairperson, says the broadcaster now wants to work with the likes of MultiChoice, Primedia, as well as Netflix and VIU which are competitors, to "share content".
"We are seeking partnerships with organisations that traditionally would be viewed as competition for the SABC. This includes MultiChoice; also streaming services like VIU, Netflix and all the rest."
