- South African TV evolved from apartheid propaganda to a platform for democracy and cultural expression.
- After 1994 broadcasting expanded from the SABC monopoly to private channels and streaming platforms.
- Streaming services are globalizing local stories, raising questions about ownership and representation.
- The SABC remains influential despite years of political and financial challenges.
- Representation, inclusion and Afrocentric storytelling remain major debates in South African television.
How does a medium get branded once?devil's own box“Be the chimney around which a nation tries to rekindle its shattered identity?
This question is at the heart of our recently published article Book It marks 50 years of Flickr first officer TV broadcast in South Africa in 1976. This section takes stock of television's journey from a tool of state propaganda to a contested site of democratic expression.
Today, this framework has expanded beyond the state-owned public broadcaster to also include private TV channels and platforms. This has evolved into the digital sphere of streaming services such as Netflix, SABC+ and the now defunct Showmax.
This has started the globalization of local stories. At the same time, they raise new questions about who really owns and has access to the South African story in the on-demand era.
a revolutionary change
TV in South Africa has always been more than a source of entertainment. It is a powerful symbol of a society that reflects: unstable (1976–1992), in transition (1992–2010), and highly complex (2010–present), as one scholar has put it argued.
With democracy in 1994, the country's broadcasting landscape changed radically. A state-controlled monopoly evolved into a competitive, privatized industry. This was led by the launch of the free-to-air private channel e.tv and extension of salary service multiple choice (Canal Now+).
Nevertheless, the public broadcaster, the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), continues to capture a major audience. It is alleged attracted More than 17 million visitors per day in 2024.
South Africa's total TV viewership is expected to increase 9.5 million by 2029. This will be driven by the surge in streaming.
early years
The vibrancy of today's market stands in stark contrast to a history of scarcity and political paranoia. Until 1976, South Africa was a global anomaly: Africa's most industrialized country had no television service.
apartheid South Africa had a system of institutional racial segregation from 1948 to 1994. The white minority government used the instruments of state power, including broadcasting, to implement its policies.
The TV screen was the battlefield of the boycott. The introduction of TV was formally suggested in the 1950s, but the government blocked its introduction. The regime wanted to control information and cultural production. He feared that TV would disrupt the social order that had kept the country in a state of self-imposed isolation.
It was not a political change that forced this. It was a day marked in history: July 20, 1969. The world held its breath as American astronaut Neil Armstrong took humanity's first steps on the Moon. but were south african left in the dark.
The feeling of exclusion was deeply felt in a country that lacked the technology that had made the world a global village. This sparked a wave of public dissatisfaction that would become difficult to control. On 5 January 1976, South Africa finally joined the television age.
First, South Africans could see five hours of programming One evening. The extra time on weekends was mainly devoted to sports.
The single SABC TV channel broadcasts equally in the languages spoken by the government: Afrikaans and English. African languages and audiences an afterthought radio. Services for black South Africans were introduced as early as 1982 Pur:. Broadcast in TV2 isiZulu And isiXhosa. Broadcast in TV3 Sesotho And setswana.
a golden season
Our book tracks frequent-rivals The role of TV in South Africa changed as a platform for diverse voices and cultural expression.
This change in focus towards the 1990s reflects what one media scholar calls South African TV “golden season“. A period defined by the transition to a new democratic system.
As the industry tried to redefine itself, local content production and experimentation flourished. a tool for To publicize Reimagined as a tool for peace. SABC became one public broadcaster With the mandate to “inform, educate and entertain while reflecting the national culture and serving audiences of all languages and communities”.
A good example of the transformative SABC was the 1992 launch of Contemporary Community Values Television (CCV-TV). This daring channel operated from 1994 to 1998 with the specific goal of freeing the SABC from the shackles of a racially polarized broadcasting system. It became an important medium of change by focusing on nation building through its programming.
Amidst the scholarly analysis, our book includes the views of practitioners who were on the scene of these transformative changes. This also includes Felicia Mabuza-Suttle Keith Pfeiffer on “Simunye” (We Are One), on using the talk show format for racial reconciliation rebranding which mainstreamed Black celebrity culture, and Manko Baffle led an ideological shift toward inclusive children's programming.
another slope
But post-apartheid optimism was gradually tempered by institutional decline and “state capture”From approximately 2011 to 2018.
Successful government administrations were criticized Ignore public broadcaster through financial mismanagement and editorial interference. An era of political patronage plagued the SABC, while independent and private channels began to increase their local content offerings.
box fight
Between the transition of South African TV and the modern era of globalized streaming, we identify a period of “reclaiming the gaze”. This period represents a deliberate move by black scholars to center Marginalized Sound and critique the industry from an African-centric perspective.
They interrogate how television has been used to reinforce or challenge social and political power structures by analyzing representations of Blackness and content created by Black producers.
Some argue that, today, South African TV has become a force to be reckoned with. cultural expression And communication between communities. However, the legacy of exclusion and ongoing struggles for representation continue shape the debate About media access, ownership and role in democratic South Africa.
In our book we include arguments for an inclusive and equitable media landscape for all South Africans. This is especially relevant in the age of streaming services, where local stories reach global audiences. Even as the industry moves toward an on-demand future, the struggles remain familiar, including issues like token portrayals of disability, languages being marginalized, or black identity being given a tabloid treatment on new channels.
Why does it matter?
As we face a new age of social media influencers and algorithmic streaming, reflecting on this history reminds us of the power of television to shape public opinion and foster social cohesion.
Whether through a 1970s living room set or a modern smartphone screen, the core of this journey is not just the history of technology, but the history of the South African people: their ongoing battle to be heard and accurately presented in the mirror of a screen that is now both local and global.
Sisanda NakoalaAssociate Professor, University of the Western Cape
This article is republished from Conversation Under Creative Commons license. read the original article.