Television in South Africa

Television in South Africa was introduced in 1976.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The country is notable for its late adoption of widespread television broadcasting.

History

Early developments

On 7 September 1928, The Star reported on the arrival of the first television experiments in South Africa. The service would start in Johannesburg by the end of the year and would subsequently expand to other South African cities over time.<ref>Anonym, Television for South Africa, The Star (City Late), 1928-09-07, p.11.</ref> The first demonstration took place on 22 August 1929, being limited to members of the South African Association for the Advancement of Science (SAAAS) at the engineering laboratory of the South African College in Cape Town. Initial pictures were of poor quality and plagued by interference.<ref>Anonym, Television Tested. To-day’s Remarkable Exhibition, The Star (City Late), 1929-08-22, p.11.</ref> A second test was conducted at the Empire Exhibition in Johannesburg in 1936. These initial experiments were seen with skepticism, with the 1936 demonstration showing concerns that television could be used for voyeurism.<ref>PUTTING UP SCREENS: A HISTORY OF TELEVISION IN SOUTH AFRICA, 1929-1976, University of Pretoria etd – Bevan, C (2008)</ref>

Opposition to introduction

Opposition leader K. Ueckermann was the first politician to propose a television service for the SABC, submitting a question to the Minister of Posts and Telegraphs, J. F. Naudé, on 6 April 1951.<ref>K. Tomaselli, The Cinema of Apartheid. Race and Class in South African Film, pp.14-15, 145.</ref> The SABC had set goals for television as early as 1944.<ref>SABC, Annual Report, 1944, p.6.</ref>

The broadcaster later reiterated that introducing a television service was considered too costly, especially given the early global developments in television technology, whose impact was still being studied. In 1952, Naudé stated that South Africa was interested in developing its own television service in the future. However, at the time, the costs were still seen as prohibitive for the Government of South Africa.<ref>Union of South Africa, Hansard 78, 1952-05-09, col. 5539.</ref>

The SABC, for its part, maintained that it was unlikely South Africa would have a television service in the near future due to the high costs associated with installing equipment, importing television sets, and producing local programmes.<ref>Union of South Africa, Hansard 83, 1953-09-11, col. 3334; Union of South Africa, Hansard 85, 1954-05-11, col. 4983.</ref>

The first proposal to introduce television in South Africa was made by The Rank Organisation in 1953, but it was rejected by the governing National Party.<ref name="Corrigan">South Africa Enters the Electronic Age: The Decision to Introduce Television, Edward C. Corrigan, Africa Today, Vol. 21, No. 2 (Spring, 1974), page 15</ref> Even though the state-controlled South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) held a virtual monopoly on radio broadcasting, it viewed the new medium as a threat to Afrikaans and the Afrikaner volk, fearing it would give undue prominence to English and create unfair competition for the Afrikaans press.<ref name="cros">Template:Cite web</ref>

Moreover, as the 1950s progressed, the SABC faced increasing financial difficulties. Its budget was strained by the purchase of additional land for its Auckland Park facilities, the expansion of Bantu radio services, and loans to install FM transmitters and services. These financial constraints hindered the SABC’s ambitions.<ref>G. Hayman & R. Tomaselli, Ideology and Technology in the Growth of South African Broadcasting, 1924-1971, in R. Tomaselli et al. (eds), Currents of Power: State Broadcasting in South Africa, pp.60-61.</ref>

By the late-1950s, United Party member B. Wilson had argued that the idea of introducing television was no longer an "astronomical" expense.<ref>Union of South Africa, Hansard 101, 1959-06-01, col. 7059.</ref> However, throughout the 1960s, the National Party maintained that the benefits of television did not justify its high operational costs.<ref>Union of South Africa, Hansard 107, 1961-03-24, cols. 3649-3650.</ref>

Prime Minister Hendrik Verwoerd compared television to atomic bombs and poison gas, stating, "They are modern things, but that does not mean they are desirable. The government has to watch for any dangers to the people, both spiritual and physical."<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Dr. Albert Hertzog, Minister for Posts and Telegraphs 1958–1968

Dr. Albert Hertzog, the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs at the time, argued that "the effect of wrong pictures on children, the less developed, and other races can be destructive."<ref name="Corrigan" /> Declaring that television would come to South Africa "over [his] dead body,"<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Hertzog denounced it as "only a miniature bioscope which is being carried into the house and over which parents have no control."<ref>Cosmopolitan, Volume 152, 1962, page 49</ref>

He also claimed that "South Africa would have to import films showing race mixing, and advertising would make Africans dissatisfied with their lot."<ref>Australia's Neighbors, 1967, page 8</ref>

On the other hand, the South African government had been producing filmed content for television broadcasters as far ahead as the late-1950s. The Department of Information's Television Section produced more than 200 films, which were sent to television stations in the United States, Canada, Australia, West Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Finland, Switzerland, Sweden, Rhodesia, France, and the United Kingdom between 1958-63.

These films featured news, interviews, and documentary segments and were viewed by millions of people, with production costs amounting to thousands of rand. While the opposition did not object to the films in principle, they questioned the government's stance on television.<ref>RSA, Hansard 8, 1963-06-14, cols. 7884-7891; RSA, Hansard 22, 1968-03-05, col. 1619; RSA, Hansard 23, 1968-04-26, cols. 4149-4150.</ref>

However, many White South Africans, including some Afrikaners, did not share Hertzog's hostility towards what he called "the little black box."<ref>South Africa Defends TV Ban, New York Times, 10 November 1964</ref> When Neil Armstrong became the first man to set foot on the Moon in 1969, South Africa was one of the few countries unable to watch the event broadcast live. This led one newspaper to remark, "The moon film has proved to be the last straw… The situation is becoming a source of embarrassment for the country."<ref>The Sunday Times, 7 July 1969, quoted by Bernard Cros in Template:Cite web</ref>

In response to public demand, the government arranged limited viewings of the landing, allowing people to watch recorded footage for fifteen minutes.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The opposition United Party highlighted that even less economically developed countries in Africa had already introduced television.<ref name="cros" />

In addition, neighbouring Southern Rhodesia had launched its own television service in 1960, becoming the first country in Africa south of the equator to do so.<ref>EBU Review: Programmes, Administration, Law, Volume 71, Administrative Office of the European Broadcasting Union, 1962, page 12</ref> Known as Rhodesia Television (RTV), its major shareholders included South African companies, such as the Argus Group of newspapers through its subsidiary, the Rhodesian Printing and Publishing Company,<ref>Area Handbook for Zambia, Volume 550, Issue 75, Irving Kaplan, American University (Washington, D.C.). Foreign Area Studies U.S. Government Printing Office, 1969, page 255</ref> as well as Davenport and Meyer,<ref>Viewing the Foreign and the Local in Zimbabwe: Film, Television, and the Shona Viewers, Katrina Daly Thompson University of Wisconsin--Madison, 2004, page 125</ref> which also operated LM Radio, based in Mozambique, then under Portuguese rule.<ref>Who's who of Southern Africa, Volume 54, Ken Donaldson (Pty.) Limited, 1967, page 393</ref>

Commenting on Rhodesia's experience with television, Ivor Benson, who served as Director of the Government Information Department under Ian Smith, remarked that the South African government "had been wise to stand firm against a great deal of well-organised pressure and to insist on waiting until some means might be found of separating television from some of the evils which have attended it in other countries."<ref>The Opinion Makers, Ivor Benson, Dolphin Press, 1967, page 135</ref>

In the absence of television in South Africa, a radio adaptation of the British television series The Avengers was produced by Sonovision for the SABC's commercial network, Springbok Radio, in 1972. Although it ran for only 18 months, the series proved highly popular.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 1968, the government's opposition to the introduction of television began to soften after Hertzog was removed as Minister for Posts and Telegraphs by Prime Minister John Vorster.<ref>The super-Afrikaners, Ivor Wilkins, Hans Strydom Jonathan Ball, 1980, page 273</ref>

In 1971, the government appointed a "Commission of Inquiry into Matters Relating to Television," headed by Piet Meyer, chairman of the Afrikaner Broederbond and later of the SABC.<ref>The Devil in the Black Box: Ethnic Nationalism, Cultural Imperialism, and the Outlawing of TV under Apartheid, School of Advanced Study, University of London, Rob Nixon, page 122</ref> A majority of the commission's members, nine of whom were Broederbond members, recommended that a television service be introduced, provided that "effective control" was exercised "to the advantage of our nation and country."<ref>Unfinished Business: South Africa, Apartheid, and Truth, Terry Bell, Dumisa Buhle Ntsebeza Verso, 2003 page 35</ref>

The commission also argued that people in South Africa would eventually be able to receive foreign television broadcasts via satellite, thereby bypassing government censorship. It suggested that this should be pre-empted through the introduction of a domestic service.<ref>Communication and Democratic Reform in South Africa, Robert B. Horwitz, Cambridge University Press, 2001</ref>

Additionally, it would be inconceivable for the Publications Control Board to censor each video cassette that entered the country once they became available in large quantities.<ref>Commission of Inquiry into Matters Relating to Television, Government Printer, South Africa, 1971, page 29</ref>

Introduction of television

In 1971, the SABC was finally allowed to introduce a television service. Initially, the proposal was for two television channels—one in English and Afrikaans, alternating between the two languages and aimed at White audiences, and another, known as TV Bantu, aimed at Black viewers.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> TV Bantu never launched.<ref name=westways>Westways, Volume 68, Automobile Club of Southern California., 1976, page 69</ref>

Test transmissions in Johannesburg began on 5 May 1975, followed by test broadcasts in Cape Town and Durban in July.<ref>TV's Last Frontier: South Africa, Journal of Communication, Annenberg School of Communications, Volume 26:1, Winter 1976, page 104</ref> Nationwide services finally commenced on 5 January 1976,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> with only one channel, the English/Afrikaans service.<ref name=westways/>

In common with most of Western Europe, South Africa used the PAL system for colour television, becoming only the second terrestrial television service in sub-Saharan Africa to launch with a colour-only service. Zanzibar in Tanzania had introduced the first such service in 1973.<ref>The World's News Media: A Comprehensive Reference Guide, Harry Drost, Longman, 1991, page 499</ref> (Tanzania itself did not establish a television service until the early 1990s, similarly concerned about the expense and perceived threat to cultural norms.)<ref>Mass Media, Towards the Millennium: The South African Handbook of Mass Communication, Arrie De Beer, J.L. van Schaik, 1998, page 56</ref>

The government, advised by SABC technicians, took the view that colour television would have to be available to avoid a costly migration from black-and-white broadcasting technology.<ref name="cros" />

Initially, the TV service was funded entirely through a licence fee, similar to the United Kingdom, charged at R36.<ref>South Africa's Yesterdays, Reader's Digest Association South Africa, 1981, page 144</ref> Advertising began on 1 January 1978.<ref>The SABC… informing a nation… inspiring the future Template:Webarchive, SABC, 2011</ref>

On 1 January 1982, two services were introduced: TV2, broadcasting in Zulu and Xhosa, and TV3, broadcasting in Sotho and Tswana, aimed at a Black urban audience.<ref>The Press and Apartheid: Repression and Propaganda in South Africa, William A. Hachten, C.Anthony Giffard Springer, 1984, page 222</ref><ref>S. Africa's black TV: on air to manipulate...or educate?, Christian Science Monitor, 24 December 1981</ref> In 1985, a new service called TV4 was introduced, carrying sports and entertainment programming, using the TV2 and TV3 broadcast channels, which then had to end transmission at 21:00.<ref>Communication and Democratic Reform in South Africa, Robert B. Horwitz, Cambridge University Press, 2001, page 68</ref>

In 1992, TV2, TV3, and TV4 were combined into a new service called CCV (Contemporary Community Values).<ref>South Africa: Official Yearbook of the Republic of South Africa, Department of Information, 1992, page 131</ref> A third channel, known as TSS (Topsport Surplus Sport), was introduced, with Topsport being the brand name for the SABC's sports coverage. However, this was replaced by NNTV (National Network TV), an educational, non-commercial channel, in 1994.<ref>The voice, the vision: a sixty year history of the South African Broadcasting Corporation, Malcolm Theunissen, Victor Nikitin, Melanie Pillay, Advent Graphics, 1996, page 127</ref>

The main channel, now called TV1, was divided evenly between English and Afrikaans, as before. It also became available in Walvis Bay, an enclave of South Africa in Namibia, which was then under South African administration. A live feed of the channel was broadcast via Intelsat and retransmitted on a local low-power repeater.<ref name="guide">International TV & Video Guide, Richard Paterson, Tantivy Press, 1986, pages 181-183</ref>

In 1986, the SABC's monopoly was challenged by the launch of a subscription-based service known as M-Net, backed by a consortium of newspaper publishers, on 1 October.<ref>Media Studies: Institutions, theories, and issues, Pieter J. Fourie, Juta and Company Ltd, 2001, page 14</ref> However, as part of M-Net’s licensing restrictions, it could not broadcast news programmes, which remained the preserve of the SABC. Despite this, M-Net began broadcasting a current affairs programme called Carte Blanche in 1988.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

As the state-controlled broadcaster, the SABC was accused of bias towards the apartheid regime, providing only limited coverage of opposition politicians.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Programming

Imported programming

Many imported programmes were dubbed into Afrikaans, some of the first being the British detective series The Sweeney (known in Afrikaans as Blitspatrollie) and Van der Valk,<ref>The S.A. film industry, African Studies Institute of the University of the Witwatersrand, 1979, page 106</ref> as well as the puppet series Thunderbirds.<ref>Boer War on the box, Richard West, The Spectator, 9 April 1977, page 7</ref> However, in July 1986, to accommodate English speakers, the SABC began to simulcast the original soundtrack of American series on an FM radio service called Radio 2000.<ref>The voice, the vision: a sixty year history of the South African Broadcasting Corporation, Malcolm Theunissen, Victor Nikitin, Melanie Pillay, Advent Graphics, 1996, page 120</ref> These included Miami Vice (known as Misdaad in Miami).<ref name="latimes">Template:Cite news</ref>

This also applied to German and Dutch programmes dubbed in Afrikaans, such as the German detective series Derrick,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and the Dutch soap opera Medisch Centrum West, known in Afrikaans as Hospitaal Wes Amsterdam.<ref>Politiek correct en onkijkbaar, NRC Handelsblad, 5 May 1998</ref>

Similarly, many programmes, such as The Jeffersons, were dubbed into Zulu.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Owing to South Africa's apartheid policies, the British Actors' Equity Association started a boycott of programme sales to South Africa. This, combined with a similar boycott by Australia, meant that South African TV was dominated by programming from the United States.<ref>Ban on sale of TV shows to South Africa lifted: Anti-apartheid blockade by actors' union dropped following reform of broadcasting, but opposition to touring remains, The Independent, 10 November 1993</ref> As a result, it was only after the end of apartheid that the boycott was lifted and non-US programming became much more widely available.

However, some US production companies, such as Lorimar, withdrew series like Knots Landing and Falcon Crest from South African circulation,<ref name="latimes" /> while the transmission of the Academy Awards ceremony to South Africa was also banned.<ref>Isolated States: A Comparative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, 1990, page 646</ref>

Local programming

The first locally produced TV programmes in South Africa were in English and Afrikaans. English-language programmes included the family drama series The Dingleys and The Villagers,<ref>Gordon Mulholland dies, aged 89, News24, 1 July 2010</ref> as well as the comedy series Biltong and Potroast, featuring South African and British comedians,<ref>Behind the scenes with Barry Hilton, Boksburg Advertiser, 28 July 2015</ref> and the variety programme The Knicky Knacky Knoo Show.<ref>Obituary - Ann Graham (nee Greenwood) Template:Webarchive, Screen Africa, 27 February 2012</ref> Other programmes included the children's series Bangalory Time,<ref>South African Mining & Engineering Journal, Volume 91, Thomson Publications, 1980, page xxx</ref> the music series Pop Shop,<ref>South Africa Radio Denies Local Artists Are Snubbed, Billboard, 18 December 1982</ref> and the sports programme Sportsview.<ref>6 legends: Great SA sportscasters, News24, 22 June 2014</ref>

Afrikaans programmes included the comedy series Nommer Asseblief and Die Bosveldhotel, which were later made into feature films.<ref>Movies, moguls, mavericks: South African cinema 1979-1991, Johan Blignaut, Martin Botha, Showdata, 1992, page 376</ref> Children's programmes included puppet shows, such as Haas Das se Nuuskas<ref>Starring Mandela and Cosby: Media and the End(s) of Apartheid, Ron Krabill University of Chicago Press, 2010, page 60</ref> and Liewe Heksie.<ref>Liewe Heksie creator Verna Vels dies, Independent Online, 22 August 2014</ref> Other programmes in Afrikaans included the sports programme Sportfokus<ref>Financial Mail, S.A.A.N. Limited, 1986, page 112</ref> and the music programme Musik en Liriek.<ref>Voëlvry: The Movement that Rocked South Africa, Pat Hopkins, Zebra, 2006, page 56</ref>

However, it was the Zulu-language comedy 'Sgudi 'Snaysi that achieved the SABC's highest viewing figures in the late 1980s.<ref>New media group takes to stage, Business Times, 9 November 1997</ref> It was also shown in Zimbabwe and Swaziland.<ref>Gloria Mudau: unassuming actress who lit up small screen, Times Live, 11 September 2011</ref>

The drama series Shaka Zulu, based on the true story of the Zulu warrior King Shaka, was shown around the world in the 1980s. However, this was only possible because the SABC had licensed the series to a US distributor.<ref>'Shaka Zulu': Negative Metaphor For South African Blacks, Los Angeles Times, 21 November 1986</ref>

Since the end of apartheid, some South African-produced programmes have been shown internationally, such as SABC 3's sci-fi/drama series Charlie Jade, a co-production between the Imaginarium and Canada's CHUM. It has been broadcast in over 20 countries, including Japan, France, South Korea, and in the United States on the Sci-Fi Channel.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

M-Net's soap opera Egoli: Place of Gold was shown in 43 African countries and was even exported to Venezuela, where it was dubbed in Spanish.<ref>Template:Cite web </ref> Venezolana de Televisión aired 130 episodes from a package of 260 episodes in 1998.<ref>"Egoli for Latin America", Africa Film & TV Magazine, nº. 16, January–March 1998</ref>

Political change

Following the easing of media censorship under State President F. W. de Klerk, the SABC's news coverage moved towards being more objective, although many feared that once the African National Congress (ANC) came to power, the SABC would revert to type and serve the government of the day. However, starting on 15 March 1993, the SABC also carried CNN International after regular transmission ended, throughout the night, thereby giving South African viewers new sources of international news.<ref>CNN: making news in the global market, Don M. Flournoy, Robert K. Stewart, University of Luton Press, 1997, page 150</ref> This was followed by a further agreement with Sky News, with the SABC channels gaining access to a live feed for eleven to twelve hours a day from 15 September.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

When the Equity ban was lifted in late 1993, both M-Net and the SABC decided to buy a heavy number of British imports, much to the irritation of the local film and television production scene.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

On 4 February 1996, two years after the ANC came to power, the SABC reorganised its three TV channels to be more representative of different language groups.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> This resulted in the downgrading of Afrikaans' status by reducing its airtime from 50% to 15%, a move that alienated many Afrikaans speakers.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

SABC TV programmes in Afrikaans and other languages are now subtitled in English, but programmes in English are not usually subtitled in other languages, as the perception is that all South Africans understand English.<ref>Language Policy and Nation-Building in Post-Apartheid South Africa, Jon Orman, Springer Science & Business Media, 2008, page 132</ref>

Previously, subtitling was confined to productions such as operas and operettas.<ref>Information Digest, The South Africa Foundation, 1989, page 80</ref> It was not used on TV1, on the assumption that most viewers understood both Afrikaans and English,<ref>Surfing through the languages, The Economist, Volume 335, Issues 7917-7920, page 152</ref> nor on CCV, despite presenters using two or more different languages during a single segment.<ref>African Film and Television Magazine, Volume 7, Z Productions, 1995, page 11</ref>

New services

The launch of PanAmSat's PAS-4 satellite saw the introduction of Ku band direct-broadcast satellite broadcasting services on 2 October 1995, soon after MultiChoice launched DStv. Two years later, the SABC launched its ill-fated satellite channels, AstraPlus and AstraSport, which were intended to catapult the corporation into the Pay TV market, called AstraSat. However, a lack of financial backers and the initial insistence on using analogue technology instead of digital technology led to their failure.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The SABC's monopoly on free-to-air terrestrial television was broken with the introduction of the privately owned channel e.tv in 1998. e.tv also provided the first local television news service outside of the SABC stable, although M-Net's parent company, MultiChoice, offers services such as CNN International, BBC World News, and Sky News via direct-broadcast satellite as part of its paid offering.

The first 24-hour local business channel, CNBC Africa, was launched in 2007 with eight hours of local programming, with the remainder pulled from other CNBC affiliates. CNBC Africa competes with Summit, a business television station owned by media group Avusa, which broadcasts only during evening prime time. Both stations are available only on the MultiChoice direct-to-home platform, although the inclusion of CNBC Africa in the offerings of new satellite players seems a near certainty.

In November 2007, regulators announced the award of four new broadcast licences following a process that saw 18 applications. The successful applicants were Walking on Water, a dedicated Christian service; On Digital Media, a broad-spectrum entertainment offering; e.sat, a satellite service from e.tv; and Telkom Media, a company 66% owned by telecommunications operator Telkom Group Ltd. The MultiChoice licence was renewed at the same time.

e.sat decided not to launch services but rather adopt a content provider business model. e.sat launched eNCA, a 24-hour news channel, in 2008 on the MultiChoice platform. Telkom Media, which was also granted an IPTV licence, decided in April 2009 not to pursue the launch of television services, as its parent company Telkom did not believe adequate investment returns could be achieved, and it was liquidated.<ref>Telkom fails to find a new investor for Telkom Media and closes company Template:Webarchive, Balancing Act Africa, 2 April 2009</ref> The remaining licensees were expected to be operational by late 2009, and all would operate direct-to-home services using standard small-aperture satellite dishes.

On Digital Media announced on 18 March 2010 that it would be launching TopTV in May 2010 as a second pay satellite TV competitor. TopTV would offer a total of 55 channels, with 25 channels in its basic offering.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

On 30 April 2013, shareholders of On Digital Media voted to approve China-based company StarTimes taking over a 20% share of ODM. By doing so, StarTimes effectively acquired a 65% economic interest in ODM.Template:Citation needed The vote also included the adoption of a business rescue plan.Template:Citation needed

TopTV was officially rebranded as StarSat on 31 October 2013.Template:Citation needed The new packages and channels associated with the rebrand were made available on 1 December 2013.<ref name="starsat-about">Template:Cite web</ref>

On 15 October 2013, eMedia Investments launched South Africa's first free-to-view platform, Openview, consisting of 18 channels, including additional e.tv channels.Template:Citation needed

From 1 May 2021, PremiumFree TV launched in the market to serve as a rival to the Openview platform.Template:Citation needed

Community television

Another model of public service television, known as community television, was introduced to South Africa in the early 1990s. The impetus for this form of television arose from a desire to overcome the divisions and imbalances in broadcasting resulting from apartheid. An important conference held in the Netherlands in 1991 saw a broad range of NGOs and community groups resolve that the full diversity of the country should be expressed in its broadcasting. Subsequently, community television was introduced to South Africa through legislation known as the Independent Broadcasting Authority Act of 1993.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The act enabled three tiers of broadcasting: public, commercial, and community.

While many community radio stations sprang up from that time, initially in Durban and Cape Town,<ref>Adrian Hadland, Mike Aldridge & Joshua Ogada, Re-visioning Television: Policy, Strategy and Models for the Sustainable Development of Community Television in South Africa (HSRC Press, 2006), p. 43.</ref> community television was initially only permitted for temporary event licences of up to four weeks in duration. It was only after the national broadcasting regulator, the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA), promulgated its position paper on community television in 2004 that longer-term licences, of up to one year, were introduced.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> This licensing regime was revised in 2010, when the duration for class licences was set at seven years.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Community television stations must, by law: a) serve a particular community; b) be run by a non-profit organisation; and c) involve members of the community in the selection and production of programming.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Issues surrounding frequency availability are complicated by the migration to digital broadcasting, which led ICASA to declare a moratorium on considering new community TV licence applications in March 2010.<ref>Government Gazette Vol. 537, No. 33605, March 2010</ref>

The first community television station to receive a one-year licence was Soweto TV in 2007. The station serves the southern Johannesburg region, primarily Soweto, and is also available by satellite on the MultiChoice platform. The second community television licence was granted to Cape Town TV, which was first licensed in 2008. The station serves the greater Cape Town metro region.

In addition to the above-mentioned services, a channel called Bay TV (now known as Mpuma Kapa TV and available only on DStv) started in Port Elizabeth, Tshwane TV in Pretoria, and 1KZN TV in Richards Bay. All of these channels held seven-year 'class' licences. In 2014, these channels collectively reached an audience of around 12 million viewers,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and all are carried both terrestrially on local analogue frequencies as well as nationally on pay-TV platforms, principally DStv. In 2013, Alex TV launched on the OpenView platform, serving residents of Gauteng, and lasted for two years.

Digital technology

The first digital television implementation in South Africa was a satellite-based system launched by pay-TV operator MultiChoice in 1995. On 22 February 2007, the South African government announced that the country's public TV operators would begin broadcasting in digital by 1 November 2008, followed by a three-year dual-illumination period that would end on 1 November 2011.

On 11 August 2008, the Department of Communications announced its Broadcasting Digital Migration Policy.<ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Dead link</ref> The policy governs the switchover from analogue to digital transmission and states that the department will provide funding to the national signal distributor, Sentech, to begin the migration process according to the published timetable. The timetable is phased as follows,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> which is a delay of 4 years from the original proposal:

• 8 August 2008 – MultiChoice launches South Africa's first HDTV channel (DStv channel 170)
• 2013 – Begin digital transmissions (DTV)
• 2015 – ~100% digital coverage and switch-off of all remaining analogue transmitters
• 2019 – As of 2019, there has been no switch-off of the analogue signal, and the digital migration seems to have stagnated again.

The government had a goal to have digital television, as well as mobile television, up and running in time for the South Africa-hosted 2010 FIFA World Cup. However, it ran into political complications, along with private broadcasters agitating for certain television standards.

On 14 January 2011, the South African Department of Communications chose the European standard DVB-T2 as the digital television standard in South Africa, following the trend set by several African nations.<ref>SA adopts DVB-T2 standard for digital TV 14 January 2011</ref><ref>DVB-T2 Digital TV standard and white neo-colonialism 17 January 2011</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Satellite television

South African-based MultiChoice's DStv is the main digital satellite television provider in Sub-Saharan Africa, broadcasting principally in English, but also in Portuguese, Hindi, German, and Afrikaans.

In May 2010, On Digital Media launched the TopTV satellite television service.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It offers a number of South African and international television channels and broadcasts principally in English, but also in Hindi, Portuguese, and Afrikaans. The platform rebranded to StarSat later in 2013.

In October 2013, eMedia Investments launched its free-to-view platform, OpenView HD, offering both local and international programming.

Other technologies

There are no cable television networks in South Africa, as maintaining a cable network is expensive due to the need to cover larger and more sparsely populated areas.<ref>Report of the Task Group on Broadcasting in South and Southern Africa, Task Group on Broadcasting in South and Southern Africa, Christo Viljoen, Government Printer, 1991, page 31</ref> MMDS was previously used in South Africa for business and educational TV services, but since the introduction of Ku-band satellite transmissions in 1995, most MMDS transmitters have been dismantled.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Most-viewed channels

Source: South African Audience Research Foundation (June 2013)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Position	Channel	Group	Monthly reach (%)
1	SABC 1	South African Broadcasting Corporation	85%
2	SABC 2	South African Broadcasting Corporation	84%
3	e.tv	Hosken Consolidated Investments	81%
4	SABC 3	South African Broadcasting Corporation	76%
5	Soweto TV	Community television	20%
6	M-Net Movies	M-Net	19%
7	Studio Universal	NBCUniversal International Networks	18%
8	Mzansi Magic	DStv	17%
9	Channel O	M-Net	16%
10	Mzansi Wethu	DStv	15%

See also

• List of South African television series
• List of television stations in South Africa

External links

• South African Broadcasting Corporation
• "Why South Africa's Television is only Twenty Years Old: Debating Civilisation, 1958-1969" by Bernard Cros
• TVSA - The South African TV Authority
• NEW TV STATION TO OPEN IN 1976 IN SOUTH AFRICA, AP Archive, 5 May 1975
• First official TV broadcast in South Africa in 1976
• Sentech's VIVID Free to Air satellite TV in South Africa. Archived from the original on 6 August 2011.
• Cape Town TV
• Strong Technologies l.l.c.
• My TV Africa