The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has raised concerns that slow policy reforms threaten its long-term financial stability.

Members of Parliament met with SABC management, staff, and industry stakeholders at the broadcaster’s headquarters in Auckland Park, Johannesburg, earlier this week.

The SABC presented its progress on turnaround efforts but emphasized the urgent need to finalise key policy and legislative matters, particularly the SABC Bill, to enable a sustainable public broadcasting funding model.

The public broadcaster stated that a lack of urgency in policy implementation hampers efforts to address critical challenges facing the organisation.

The Portfolio Committee on Communications and Digital Technologies was briefed on the SABC’s ongoing strategic recovery plan, introduced in 2024. The plan, part of a five-year corporate strategy, aims to position the SABC as a financially stable and self-sufficient public broadcaster. However, the SABC warned that achieving this goal requires policy certainty.

The broadcaster stressed the need for the urgent finalisation of the SABC Bill and the review of the public broadcasting funding model. It noted that despite its active participation in policy development, including submissions on the SABC Bill, delays in implementing legislative reforms pose a significant risk to its financial sustainability.

Meanwhile, the SABC reaffirmed its commitment to the analogue switch-off and digital migration programme, stating that it continues to support the government’s transition to digital broadcasting.

Public Broadcasting | Outright rejection of the new SABC Bill and calls for its withdrawal: