High Court halts analogue TV switch-off
The High Court in Pretoria has suspended the 31 March analogue TV switch-off deadline, barring Communications Minister Solly Malatsi and Sentech from proceeding.
The ruling follows a legal challenge by eMedia, SABC and advocacy groups, arguing the switch-off would impact millions of indigent households.
“The Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies is interdicted from taking any steps to implement the switch-off of analogue signals and ending dual illumination,” Judge Selby Baqwa wrote in a judgment on Thursday.
Baqwa believes the public will suffer severe consequences if analogue TV signals are switched off at the end of March.
“The harm is not just a temporary inconvenience. Each day without access to news, public service announcements, and educational programming results in irreversible loss of knowledge, awareness, and democratic participation,” he said.
However, Minister Solly Malatsi’s legal team claimed eMedia is protecting commercial interests.
The government cited a R1.2-billion cost since 2014 as a reason for ending analogue TV transmission.
South Africa initially planned to turn off all analogue TV signals by November 2011, but the government’s broadcasting digital migration programme has been plagued by issues.
