Johannesburg – Friday, 8 August 2025 – The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) wishes to correct recent media reports and public commentary that have misrepresented the nature of government funding allocated to the public broadcaster, during the recent budget vote by the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies (DCDT).

Contrary to the current narrative suggesting that the SABC has received a new government grant or bailout totalling R704 million for the 2025/26 fiscal year, the Corporation would like to clarify the matter and state the following:

1. This is not new or additional funding.

The R704 million mentioned by the Honourable Minister, Solly Malatsi during the department’s recent budget vote refers to a Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) allocation spread over three years, and not a once-off disbursement. This equates to approximately R235 million per year over the MTEF period. Furthermore, it is important to note that the current MTEF allocation of R704 million is in fact lower than the total allocation received by the SABC in the previous MTEF period.

2. The funding is earmarked for specific public interest content.

This allocation is a continuation of a long-standing commitment by government to support the production and acquisition of children’s programming, educational and religious content as well as support towards Channel Africa in line with the SABC’s public service mandate. These funds are ringfenced and will be used strictly for the purposes for which they were allocated, to ensure that
the Corporation continues to deliver quality educational content to the SABC’s audiences, especially underserved communities.

3. No new bailout or discretionary grant has been received.

It is important to underscore that the SABC has not received any new or discretionary government grant as continuously purported by some media publications. The referenced funding forms part of previously committed support under the DCDT’s content policy priorities and is reflected accordingly in the national budget.

The SABC acknowledges with appreciation the continued support it receives from government and reiterates its long-standing view that the public broadcasting mandate, as set out in law, ideally requires full funding by the state to be sustainably fulfilled. While the current allocation provides valuable support, it covers only a portion of the total cost associated with delivering on the SABC’s constitutional and developmental obligations. The Corporation remains committed to ongoing and constructive engagement with all relevant stakeholders on this important matter.

ENDS
Issued By: Group Communications
Media Enquiries: Mmoni Ngubane (Head: Communications)
Ngubanemv@sabc.co.za | T. 011 714 3057 | C. 073 688 1590