SABC bleeds R4bn in lost fees as just 15% of TV Licence holders comply
Key topics:
SABC’s TV licence fee collection rose slightly to 15% of holders.
Public broadcaster posted R253.3M net loss despite modest revenue growth.
New funding model and streaming levy considered to boost sustainability.
Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter will land in your inbox at 5:30am weekdays. Register here.
Support South Africa’s bastion of independent journalism, offering balanced insights on investments, business, and the political economy, by joining BizNews Premium. Register here.
If you prefer WhatsApp for updates, sign up to the BizNews channel here.
The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has released its annual report for the 2024/25 financial year, revealing a slight improvement in TV licence fee collection.
However, TV licence fee avoidance remains high, with just 15% of holders paying their fees during the year, up from 14% in the previous financial year.
“TV Licences amounting to R4.936 billion (2024: R4.841 billion) were billed, of which only R758.0 million (31 March 2024: R686.5 million) met the probability recognition criteria and was recognised,” the SABC said.
Therefore, the public broadcaster lost approximately R4.2 billion in TV licence revenue due to existing licence holders withholding payment.
It stated that TV licence revenues grew by 10% year-on-year, which was supported by its intensified collection efforts.
The SABC recorded a net loss of R253.3 million in its latest annual results, which is higher than the R197.8 million net loss it recorded in the 2023/24 financial year.
Read more:
“Modest revenue growth of 1.3% was outpaced by a 3% rise in expenditure. This resulted in a 4.9% decline in net margin,” it said.
The SABC added that its unfunded public interest mandate amounts to roughly R2.1 billion per year.
“Securing funding for this remains a critical priority and is a central feature of the SABC Bill currently under review,” it said.
The SABC said the Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA) has issued it an unqualified audit opinion on its financial statements for the year 2024/25.
This is the highest level of audit approval, indicating that the AGSA found no material misstatements or issues in the SABC’s financial statements.
SABC CEO Nomsa Chabeli welcomed the outcome, adding that the SABC is committed to ensuring sustainability, public trust, and continuing to serve South Africa’s residents.
“Receiving an unqualified audit opinion for two consecutive years is a clear indication that the SABC is on the right path to restoring stability, embedding strong governance, and fulfilling its public mandate,” she said.
Replacement for SABC TV licences
Although TV licences aren’t currently the SABC’s primary revenue generator, better collection of the fees could have significantly improved the public broadcaster’s reported profitability.
Considering the SABC reported a net loss of R253.3 million, the R4.2 billion in TV licence revenue it failed to collect would have swung it into the green.
TV licence fee avoidance has been a significant problem for the SABC. Last year, the avoidance rate reached 86%, and most TV licence holders have avoided paying for several years.
The public broadcaster is currently awaiting its reworked funding model to help it achieve sustainability and fulfil its public mandate.
The Department of Communications and Digital Technologies recently announced that it had appointed BMIT TechKnowledge as the service provider that will develop the new funding model.
Communications minister Solly Malatsi announced the decision on Friday, 12 September 2025, describing it as a significant milestone.
“This is a major milestone in our efforts to secure the public broadcaster’s future and mandate to serve millions of South Africans,” he said.
“BMI TechKnowledge is a long-standing South African ICT research and advisory firm with a proven track record of economic modelling, broadcasting market analysis, and regulatory policy support.”
Industry stakeholders and organisations have proposed alternatives to the TV licence scheme, including a household tax and a levy on local and international streaming providers.
The household tax would resemble Germany’s Rundfunkbeitrag, a fee that households must pay even if they don’t consume the public broadcaster’s content.
This was most recently proposed by SABC head of policy and regulatory affairs, Philly Moilwa, who said the South African Revenue Service would help collect the fees.
Read more:
He also proposed that “pro-competitive” licence conditions would require DStv, South Africa’s dominant pay-TV broadcaster, to collect the fees on the SABC’s behalf.
However, MultiChoice criticised the proposal, saying it would oppose any scheme where it would be required to collect revenue on the public broadcaster’s behalf.
Malatsi raised another potential replacement for TV licences in early 2025: a levy on local and international streaming services to help fund the SABC.
His spokesperson, Kwena Moloto, emphasised that the streaming levy was just one of several options being considered and not a formal proposal.
This article was first published by MyBroadband and is republished with permission