SABC Plus tops two million registered users

SABC Plus tops two million registered users

SABC Plus, the free online streaming platform, has reached two million registered users, the public broadcaster said in a statement on Thursday. According to the SABC, the SABC Plus platform continues to serve as the “perfect puzzle piece” in its digital distribution strategy, as it redefines itself in the age of digital media. The number…

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AI, zero-rating drive SABC Plus platform expansion

AI, zero-rating drive SABC Plus platform expansion

SABC eyes three million registered SABC Plus users by January 2027. The SABC is stepping up its digital strategy with SABC Plus, introducing artificial intelligence (AI), gamification and expanding zero-rated content across the streaming platform. This is in an effort to make public broadcasting more accessible, engaging and inclusive, it says. Dr Vuyo Nyembezi, acting…

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SABC Plus to flight Microsoft AI training videos

SABC Plus to flight Microsoft AI training videos

Microsoft South Africa and the public broadcaster, the SABC, have signed an agreement that will see AI and digitals skills programmes flighted on the SABC Plus streaming platform. The announcement was made during the Johannesburg leg of the Microsoft AI Tour 2026 on Thursday. “We have a responsibility as corporates – all of us –…

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Television at 50 | How the SABC lost its way

Television at 50 | How the SABC lost its way

Today, 5 January 2026, South Africa marks 50 years since television was launched in 1976 – a milestone that invites a hard look at what television has been in this country: late to arrive, tightly controlled, briefly reimagined, then captured again, and now increasingly sidelined by streaming and smartphones. This is the first in a…

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AI, zero-rating drive SABC Plus platform expansion

SABC sees streaming subscriptions, gamification, gaming in its future

The SABC introduced its own freemium-based, over-the-top platform in 2022. The South African Broadcasting Corporation’s (SABC’s) goal is to generate R200 million annually through monetisation of its video streaming platform SABC+, says chief operating officer Lungile Binza. However, the public broadcaster is still far from achieving that target, the COO acknowledged. Binza spoke yesterday at…

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The one area where the SABC is actually thriving

The one area where the SABC is actually thriving

South Africans are increasingly turning to the SABC’s online services, including its YouTube channel and TikTok accounts, for the latest news, with these digital platforms all showing good growth last year. According to the broadcaster’s annual report, published on Friday, the challenge for public broadcasters around the world is to identify their niche and deliver…

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BMIT hired to develop new funding model for the SABC

BMIT hired to develop new funding model for the SABC

Communications minister Solly Malatsi The department of communications & digital technologies has appointed BMI-TechKnowledge Group (BMIT) to develop a new funding model for the SABC in what could prove to be a decisive move for the future of South Africa’s struggling public broadcaster. BMIT, a longstanding ICT research and advisory firm, has been tasked with…

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Comms ministry appoints BMIT to develop SABC financial model

Comms ministry appoints BMIT to develop SABC financial model

Public broadcaster the SABC’s Auckland Park headquarters. The Department of Communications and Digital Technologies (DCDT) has appointed BMIT Knowledge Group (BMIT) to develop a funding model for the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC). BMIT is an IT and telecoms research house located in Johannesburg. The DCDT says in a statement: “BMIT Knowledge Group is a…

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Pressure mounts on Solly Malatsi as SABC stares down ‘risk of collapse’

Pressure mounts on Solly Malatsi as SABC stares down ‘risk of collapse’

Khusela Diko and Solly Malatsi Pressure is mounting on communications minister Solly Malatsi’s to act to rescue the SABC as it struggles to pay its escalating bills. On Monday, reporters heard that state-owned signal distributor Sentech, whose primary client is the SABC, is “subsidising” the public broadcaster’s signal distribution expenses to the tune of R70-million/month….

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Government steps in to resolve SABC, Sentech tariff feud

Government steps in to resolve SABC, Sentech tariff feud

The Sentech television broadcasting tower in Auckland Park, Johannesburg The department of communications & digital technologies has published a tender in efforts to mediate in the ongoing tariff dispute between the SABC and its signal distributor, Sentech. According to a briefing document, the main purpose of the mediator will be to reach a settlement agreement…

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