A R600 million hole: SABC in turmoil, due to ‘significant decline in viewers’

The state broadcaster has lost upwards of R600 million since 2020, and there are fears that the situation will soon get worse. SABC has had a torrid time in recent years, and only government backing has kept it afloat.

However, these latest revelations could prove to be terminal for SABC. The news was, somewhat wearily, shared by various platforms belonging to the network on Wednesday morning. They are blaming a steep decline in audience viewing figures for driving down advertising revenue, leading to a ‘cash haemorrhage’ :

The SABC says it has suffered its biggest loss in revenue collection so far. It says it has lost over R 600 million due to a significant audience decline on its platforms in the past two years #sabcnews

— SAfm news (@SAfmnews) May 4, 2022

The SABC says it has suffered its biggest loss in revenue collection so https://t.co/vhGwWyNnFj says it has lost over 600-million-rand due to a significant audience decline on its platforms in the past two years.#sabcnews

— Radio 2000 (@Radio2000_ZA) May 4, 2022

Experts predict ‘bleak future’ for SA’s state broadcaster

Former Zimbabwean minister and current political commentator, Professor Jonathan Moyo, believes that SABC is now on an irreversible path. He foresees the loss of revenue – and the R600 million black hole – contributing to a future of ‘poor content delivery’, which will eventually lead to the station’s demise.

After all, not even Hlaudi Motsoeneng oversaw yearly losses of this size…

“It’s a slippery road travelled by all public broadcasters, and it will get worse as the decline of audiences – which means loss of revenue – is always coupled with the decline if not the end of government’s financial support from the fiscus. All of this inevitably leads to poor content delivery.”

Professor Jonathan Moyo