From SABC to SARS: South Africa’s Leap Toward a Streaming-Age Public-Media Levy

South Africa is ditching its old TV license for a new, smarter way to fund public media by 2027. Instead of paying for a TV, everyone will pay a small, regular amount, like a household bill, collected by SARS. This change aims to give the SABC steady money to keep telling our stories and sharing news, even if we watch on phones or computers. It’s a big leap from dusty old TVs to the modern streaming world, making sure public broadcasting stays alive and well for everyone.

What is the future of SABC’s funding model?

The SABC plans to replace the outdated TV licence with a new device-agnostic household levy by April 1, 2027. This levy, collected by SARS, aims to secure stable funding for public media, moving away from television ownership to a broader, more equitable contribution system.

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The Licence That Collapsed Under Its Own Weight

In 1998 a 54-cm box television swallowed three weeks of the average pay packet; the colour-licence sticker added another five-percent sting. Shoppers moaned, yet they still handed the cash to the post-office clerk who refused to release the set without proof of payment. Back then there were only two foreign channels, both encrypted, so the state broadcaster felt indispensable.

A generation later the sticker still says R265, but a 55-inch smart screen ordered from Takealot costs less than six days’ wages and lands on your doorstep. Between 2016 and 2024 the national stock of “TV homes” crept up one percent a year, while valid licences shrivelled seven percent annually. Evasion now outruns Eskom’s debt-to-GDP spiral: 69 % in 2019, 81 % in 2023, 85 % by March 2025. The corporation posts 1.3-million paper reminders; 900 000 boomerang back “address unknown”. Debt collectors pocketed R190-million in commission from 2020-2024 and brought in only R44-million. The arithmetic is terminal.

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When the Mandate Outruns the Money

Advertising once bankrolled almost two-thirds of SABC income; internal forecasts show it sliding below 40 % by 2026 as Google, Meta and TikTok swallow the lower-funnel rand. Meanwhile the cost of sales has jumped 28 % in twenty-four months because the Charter still demands nineteen radio stations in eleven languages, nationwide terrestrial footprints and live Parliament – obligations no private rival carries.

The net outcome is an operating hole of R1.8-billion for 2023/24, even after a R1.5-billion emergency appropriation. Moody’s cut the corporate family rating to Caa1 in March 2025, and trade creditors now wait 187 days on average for payment. Salaries are met by dipping into the pension fund; the broadcaster is effectively borrowing from its own retirees.

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Why the Constitution Won’t Allow a Straight Bail-Out

Section 192(3) of the 1996 Constitution orders the SABC to deliver “information, education and entertainment” that mirrors the nation’s languages, attitudes and creativity, and to remain “independent of government, political and commercial interference”. Courts read this to mean daily editorial decisions must sit beyond Treasury’s reach. Pure taxpayer funding is therefore valid only if Parliament erects a statutory firewall comparable to the ones sheltering the Auditor-General or the Electoral Commission. The despised licence fee, for all its leaks, was that bulkhead: the Minister set the rate, the Board decided the spend. Any successor must replicate the same insulation or breach the supreme law.

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Blueprints From Abroad – and a February Deadline

Germany scrapped the set-linked charge in 2013 and moved to a flat household contribution collected by a Bundesbank subsidiary; compliance jumped from 83 % to 97 % in four years and the public networks now bank €8.3-billion annually without door-to-door inspectors. Britain will untie the licence from television ownership in 2027, shifting the levy to broadband bills after privatising Channel 4. Sweden folded the fee into personal income tax in 2019; Parliament must now secure multi-party agreement for every annual uplift. Canada hands the CBC a five-year block grant linked to inflation, but that exposed the corporation to an 11 % real-terms cut between 2013 and 2023 when political winds changed.

South Africa’s Department of Communications hired BMI-TechKnowledge in April 2025 to craft a “device-agnostic household levy” that is cheap to collect, fair to the poor and lawsuit-proof. Consultants have until 6 February 2026 to answer five questions: Who pays?, How much?, Who collects?, How does it rise?, and Who guards the wall?

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Who Gets the Bill – and How Big Will It Be?

Options on the table include every household on e-Natis, every post-paid mobile SIM, every bank account above the savings threshold, or every Eskom meter consuming more than 350 kWh a month. A SIM-linked base would sweep in 78 % of low-income families thanks to near-universal prepaid penetration; an electricity threshold would spare 42 % of homes but squeeze the suburban middle.

The public-service division calculates it needs R7.3-billion a year to cover its mandate without advertising. A universal household levy of R25 a month would yield R8.1-billion at 90 % collection – cheaper than two cappuccinos, yet still one-tenth of the monthly child-support grant, a lightning-rod issue in an election season.

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SARS Enters the Chat – But Must Keep Its Hands Off Editorial

Only the revenue authority has the data muscle and legal compulsion powers to hit 90 %-plus compliance, yet its systems are wired for PAYE and VAT, not household levies. Two scenarios are stress-tested: SARS as mere collection agent (taking a 4 % fee) or as appropriator that funnels cash through a National Revenue Fund sub-account before release to the SABC. The latter gives Treasury oversight; the former preserves the constitutional firewall. Draft legislation already circulates: a tri-cameral set-up of an independent Rates Board, an automatic once-a-year distributor, and a parliamentary veto that needs a 60 % majority to block rate changes. Treasury would be barred from holding money back once the rate is gazetted, copying Germany’s “Rundfunkfinanzierungsstaatsvertrag”.

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Dodging the Polish Smartphone Trap and Other Pitfalls

Warsaw tried to extend its fee to laptops in 2018; Apple and Samsung sued, arguing the EU directive demands proof of actual domestic consumption of Polish public content. South Africa will therefore link the charge to the National Population Register address of the oldest ID holder, not to gadgets. One levy per erf number covers backyard dwellings and student digs, with a half-price second registration allowed to curb informal sub-letting.

To soften the regressive blow, Treasury is weighing a R300-a-year rebate delivered through the social-grants system, cutting the net cost for grant recipients to R200. Another idea zero-rates households already exempt from municipal rates, but that would slice 9 % off gross revenue. The most radical hybrid adds a 2 % surcharge on fibre packages above 100 Mbps, dropping the universal household debit to R15 and tying public-media funding to digital prosperity rather than television ownership.

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Political Chess and Calendar Cliff-Edges

Cabinet must receive the final BMI-T report by 6 February 2026; draft legislation has to reach Parliament by June to allow winter-recess public hearings. The 1976 TV Licence Act, amended eighteen times, will then be repealed wholesale. Historic arrears – R13.6-billion face value older than three years – will be written off the liquidating TV Licence Account. The new levy is pencilled for 1 April 2027, aligning with the SABC’s 2027/28 ledger and the next multi-year ad-rate card.

Legal landmines abound. OUTA, the outfit that killed e-tolls, threatens court action unless the charge is opt-in. The Democratic Alliance labels any compulsory household debit a “tax”, demanding the super-majority procedure of the Money Bills Amendment Act – tough math for the ANC-EFF bloc after the 2026 local polls. Mobile operators warn a SIM surcharge could breach the Electronic Communications Act ban on discriminatory retail tariffs. The EFF wants executive salaries slashed and outsourced productions cancelled before “the poor are extorted”.

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If Legislation Stalls, the Streamers Could Foot the Bill

Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime and Showmax poured R2.7-billion into local productions in 2024 – double the SABC commissioning purse. Yet none must carry live Parliament, school maths in Sepedi or isiNdebele news. Should the household-levy bill collapse, policymakers could import the EU’s 2026-ready template: a 2 % levy on South African subscription revenue paid into a Public Content Fund overseen by an independent board. The fund would be open to the SABC, community stations and certified YouTube educators, turning Netflix into both competitor and benefactor – an irony unimaginable when the first yellow envelope dropped in 1976.

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Inside the Post-Licence Business Model – Fewer Staff, More Apps

Whatever the revenue pipe, the corporation has twenty-four months to remake itself for guaranteed-income stability. Executives are drafting a split structure: a public-service publisher funded 100 % by the new levy and a commercial studio chasing ads and global sales. Of 4 337 permanent posts, the market-facing side would absorb the bulk, letting the public side shrink to 2 000 posts indexed to levy growth. Transmission towers and multiplex licences shift to Sentech under a 20-year service-level pact, shedding R1.1-billion in maintenance liabilities.

Spectrum freed by the 2024 digital switch-off allows the launch of SABC-Plus, a free-to-stream platform carrying 28 live channels and a 30-day catch-up library. BMI-T projects that by 2029 six out of ten 18- to 34-year-olds will touch SABC content only through the app; the invisible household debit, not the TV set, becomes the badge of legitimacy.

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The Yellow Envelope’s Last Journey

In March 2026 the Post Office will drop its final batch of licence-renewal letters – perforated edges, courier font, expiry date 31 March 2027. Millions will toss the yellow envelope into the recycling bin, unaware they are discarding a piece of history. On 1 April 2027 the paper relic disappears for good, replaced by a cryptic line on a SARS statement most taxpayers will never scroll down to see. Whether that silent monthly debit can keep SABC News, Lotus FM and The Bold and the Beautiful alive – long after the last television set is unplugged – will be decided in the parliamentary hearings and courtrooms of the next twelve months.

[{“question”: “What is replacing the SABC TV Licence and when?”, “answer”: “The SABC TV Licence is being replaced by a new device-agnostic household levy by April 1, 2027. This levy will be collected by the South African Revenue Service (SARS) and aims to provide stable funding for public media, irrespective of whether content is consumed via traditional TV, phones, or computers.”}, {“question”: “Why is the TV Licence being replaced?”, “answer”: “The TV Licence system has become financially unsustainable, with evasion rates reaching 85% by March 2025. The shift aims to adapt to modern media consumption habits (streaming on various devices) and secure a more reliable and equitable funding source for the SABC’s public service mandate, which includes operating 19 radio stations in 11 languages and providing nationwide terrestrial footprints.”}, {“question”: “How will the new levy be collected and by whom?”, “answer”: “The new levy will be collected by SARS, leveraging its existing data muscle and legal enforcement powers to ensure high compliance. Two main scenarios are being considered: SARS acting as a collection agent (taking a 4% fee) or as an appropriator funneling funds through a National Revenue Fund sub-account. The latter option, while providing Treasury oversight, might compromise the constitutional firewall ensuring the SABC’s independence, which the former aims to preserve.”}, {“question”: “Who will pay the new levy and how much?”, “answer”: “Options for who pays include every household on e-Natis, every post-paid mobile SIM, every bank account above a savings threshold, or every Eskom meter consuming more than 350 kWh a month. The public-service division estimates needing R7.3-billion annually. A universal household levy of approximately R25 per month is projected to yield R8.1-billion at 90% collection. To mitigate the impact on low-income households, options like a R300-a-year rebate via social grants or exempting households already exempt from municipal rates are being considered.”}, {“question”: “How does this new model compare to international examples?”, “answer”: “Other countries have adopted various models. Germany moved to a flat household contribution collected by a central bank subsidiary, significantly boosting compliance. Britain plans to untie its licence from TV ownership and link it to broadband bills. Sweden integrated its fee into personal income tax, and Canada uses a five-year block grant. South Africa’s approach is being crafted to be cheap to collect, fair to the poor, and legally robust, learning from these international experiences.”}, {“question”: “What happens if the new levy legislation fails?”, “answer”: “If the household levy legislation collapses, policymakers might consider an alternative funding model, such as a 2% levy on South African subscription revenue from streaming services like Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime, and Showmax. This revenue would be paid into a Public Content Fund overseen by an independent board, benefiting not only the SABC but also community stations and certified YouTube educators.”}]