The South Africa Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) is calling on South Africans to pay their TV licences in the new year.
This comes as the company faced a decline in TV licence fee revenue in the 2023/2024 financial year.
The public broadcaster noted that its non-compliance rate increased to 85.6% in 2024. According to the SABC Annual Report for 2023/2024, the public broadcaster collected over R686 million in TV licence fees in the past financial year, although total TV licence debt still amounted to over R4.8 billion.
The broadcaster recorded a R192 million loss in 2023/24, which is a significant improvement compared to the loss of R826 million in the 2022/23 financial year. It also attained an unqualified audit for the first time in 14 years.
However, the SABC’s remain in a financially precarious situation and now they are trying to make it easier for South Africans to pay their licenses to recoup money. The SABC will now allow customers to pay their debt online.
“You may now pay online by using your credit card, or online at your banking website using the TV Licenses account details, or go to the EasyPay website for virtual peace of mind,” the SABC said on its website.
The broadcaster said that it has also extended its physical pay point network to ensure that there is always a location close to consumers in order to pay their licenses.
The SABC added that other payment options include cheque or postal order payments through the postal system.
How much does it cost?
Paying your TV licence will cost you R265 per year and the SABC has encouraged South Africans to pay their obligations in order to avoid hefty fines.
“Forgetting to renew your TV licence means a penalty of 10% per month to a maximum of 100% per annum,” the broadcaster said.
The SABC said first-time television license applicants must pay the full annual fee of R265 and added that renewals must be made annually before the license expires.
The public broadcaster said that renewal payments may be spread throughout the year at R28 per month.
If you choose to pay your licence monthly payments, then you are subject to a small premium for convenience, according to SABC and the total cost is therefore R336 per year.
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