TV licences set to be replaced by new funding model
TV licence fee avoidance has increased significantly in recent years, but the new system has not convinced everyone.
TV licences have long been a divisive topic in South Africa, and also a slight headache.
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According to the Broadcasting Act, No 4 of 1999, as amended, any person or entity that has in its possession and/or uses a TV set. A licence remains payable, irrespective of whether a television set in one’s possession is used or not.
The SABC itself had admitted that the TV licence schemes are no longer relevant or providing the large amount of revenue they are supposed to, placing it under significant financial strain.
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In 2025, MyBroadband reported a slight improvement in TV licence payments for the 2024/25 period, as shared by the public broadcaster.
Despite this improvement, only 15% of licence holders paid their TV licence fees.
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Of the R4.936 billion billed for TV licences, the SABC received only R758 million, leaving around R4.2 billion in uncollected TV licence payments.
Last year, the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies appointed BMI TechKnowledge to develop the SABC’s new funding model, which is currently being finalised.
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The new system, which looks to replace the TV licence with a tech-neutral household levy, is favoured by many but still faces criticism from some.
SABC CEO Nomsa Chabeli said that the current TV licence structure has failed due to a culture of non-payment among South Africans.
People generally don't believe they should have to pay for services. It's not unique to the SABC; we see it with electricity, with water, etc. So we need to understand that there is that culture.
According to Chabeli, it is crucial to find an alternative, describing the current TV licence scheme as "archaic" and "outdated."
"We've also looked at the possibility of SARS introducing a collection mechanism on their side," she added.
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Another alternative proposed by Chabeli is to receive funding from the National Treasury to help the SABC continue delivering its services to South Africans.
However, Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies Solly Malatsi says replacing the SABC TV licence with a household levy is a “terrible idea”.
Also, there’s a genuine sense that the cost of living is too high. The thought of a potential additional tax in this current dispensation would not gain favour with the public.
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Malatsi is pointing the finger straight at the South African government, which is the SABC's most significant advertising spender, without giving the broadcaster its due.
This results in the SABC losing potential advertising from paying clients.
What has handicapped the SABC’s financial sustainability are the impositions of the public mandate. The SABC, unlike private broadcasters, has to broadcast a certain number of news programmes per day across different channels in different languages.
The Minister explains that the public mandate cannot "be sustained on freebies".
The funding model was set to be finalised on 15 December 2025, but has been extended to 6 February 2026, after which it will still be some time before it is implemented.
We will then have a consultation with the Minister of Finance, based on what BMIT would have proposed to us.
The replacement option, the household levy, is similar to Germany’s Rundfunkbeitrag, which ensures citizens have continued access to trusted, independent journalism, education, and entertainment.
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