Despite being a legal requirement for most television owners in South Africa, the SABC TV licence continues to suffer from widespread non-compliance
The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has stepped up efforts to recover unpaid TV licence fees, deploying debt collectors and sending SMS reminders to households with outstanding balances.
The move comes as non-compliance with TV licence payments continues to rise, placing growing financial pressure on the public broadcaster. Fewer than 20% of households required to hold a TV licence are currently paying the annual fee of R265.
The TV licence system was introduced to help fund the SABC and support local programming. However, the rise of streaming platforms and digital content has prompted renewed debate over the relevance of the fee.
Speaking to Parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) last year, SABC CEO Nomsa Chabeli said declining TV licence revenue was affecting the broadcaster’s ability to fulfil its public mandate.
