SABC And e.TV Are Likely To Be Reliant On DStv As Millions Of Households Still Recieving Analogue Signals Will Be Left In The Dark

As some readers have been made aware, SABC 1-3 will be transitioning away from analogue TV on 31 December 2024 a process that had been delayed the government for more than a decade. They put up various banners addressing the situation with e.tv that has yet to do so as they opt to once again delay/scrap the switch off.

Several countries had already turned off their signals as this current method of watching TV has been deemed outdated for sometime. As you can rely on a smart TV for these channels and best part pick up additional channels even the likes of Openview and DStv can help combat this situation.

Trust me when I mention that the government should have never opted to delay the switch yes there was millions still reliant on their aerial but this problem could have lessened by 2024. MultiChoice was always accustomed to catering for a selection of consumers and now free-to-air operators will have to adjust to this current structure.

Having SABC 1's viewership minimised as some households will probably be watching SABC Sport or eReality and with MultiChoice having SuperSportBET, DStv Insurance and Namola to obtain some revenue. These operators are now going to have to find other means to recover this lost revenue.

If there's anyone that's going to suffer more from this it's the SABC while eMedia Investments went ahead and launched Openview ahead of the switch off were able to garner some income and grow their fanbase. Although SABC had followed similar routes with SABC Education and SABC Lehae on DTT very little income is being generated.

Now SABC is trying to make a DStv a cash cow by trying to make its parent company either pay for SABC 1-3 or help in collecting TV licence despite making R500 million in advertising. These are just ideas that have been in development hell for more than a decade alongside the rest of the public broadcaster.

This was something that TVWithThinus had mentioned from time and time again the government had failed the SABC. If it didn't SABC News wouldn't be financed by MultiChoice and I believe if they were more involved they would have tried improving the SABC's financial situation.

At this stage, the public broadcaster can't survive in its current structure without some financial backing maybe they could look into minimising the amount of local content on SABC 1. There's already DStv and a global player like Netflix even e.tv has increased its local investment in recent years.

If there's anyone that can survive in SABC's shoes it would be MultiChoice as consumers are paying for the content being viewed on Mzansi Magic and Moja Love alongside Netflix.

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