Ntshavheni says SA’s digital migration has to be concluded as analogue switch-off deadline halted

South Africa’s analogue switch-off process has hit another snag after the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria suspended the latest deadline.

On Thursday, the court ruled against Communications and Digital Technologies Minister Solly Malatsi, putting a halt to the planned transition.

The urgent application was heard last week, with the country racing to meet the 31 March deadline to shift from analogue to digital broadcasting.

High Court halts analogue switch-off

E.tv, Media Monitoring Africa (MMA), and the SOS Support Public Broadcasting Coalition had argued that millions of households that are still dependent on analogue services could be left without access to free-to-air television.

The applicants further contended that the digital migration could negatively impact other free-to-air channels, potentially disrupting their operations and audience reach.

In his ruling, Judge Selby Baqwa issued an interdict preventing Malatsi and state-owned signal distributor, Sentech, from proceeding with the 31 March deadline until Part B of the case is finalised.

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“The operation of the analogue switch-off date of 31 March 2025, as announced by the minister of communications and digital technologies of 5 December 2024, is suspended.

“The minister is interdicted from taking any steps to implement the switch-off of analogue signals and ending dual illumination,” the brief judgment reads.

Baqwa also ordered Malatsi to cover the legal costs of the applicants, including their counsel fees.

Government’s stance on digital migration

Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni addressed the digital migration during a media briefing earlier on Thursday.

“As we indicated some years ago, South Africans have migrated whether we [like] it or not, so the exercise that is being done is just to complete it,” she said.

Ntshavheni attributed South Africans’ access to 5G to government’s spectrum rollout.

“The completion of the distribution of the set-top boxes is just because people have applied [but] they are even not coming through because some of them are already on satellite television in one form or the other.

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“People have self-migrated and the TV sets that are sold in the country enabled self-migration,” the minister explained.

She further highlighted that the remaining analogue television transmitters were unnecessarily occupying space and driving up broadcasting costs for the public broadcaster.

“It’s not in the interest of South Africans that the process be prolonged; it has to be concluded.”

Challenges in the migration process

Malatsi had extended the analogue switch-off deadline, citing financial constraints and the impact on broadcasters such as the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC).

Additionally, nearly 500 000 households had yet to register for set-top box (STB) installations —commonly referred to as decoders — needed for digital migration.

The decoders come in two forms: digital terrestrial television (DTT) or direct-to-home (DTH) devices.

Despite the extension, Malatsi faced criticism for failing to consult those involved in the industry before announcing a new switch-off date.

This is not the first legal battle over the transition.

In July 2022, the Constitutional Court (ConCourt) ruled that government’s initial digital migration deadline was unconstitutional and unlawful, following an appeal by e.tv against a previous high court judgment.

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