SABC taking you for a ride? Shock car radio licence claim revs broadcaster

It was no April Fool’s joke for SA’s financially embattled national broadcaster when it was alerted to a startling statement circulating on Twitter, claiming that the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) would be introducing a hefty licence fee for car radios.

In an official statement, the SABC dismissed the claim that the broadcaster will be introducing an annual car radio licence fee of R401 (with a penalty fine of R750 or 90 days in jail) as mere static on the radio.

‘New SABC car radio licence’

The fake Twitter statement — complete with the SABC logo and name and contact details of a spokesperson —  stated that the broadcaster was “pleased to announce the introduction of the new SABC car radio licence”.

This due to the fact that “the SABC has seen a dramatic decline in TV licence revenue due to streaming services such as Netflix becoming ever more popular, we as the SABC, therefore, had to look at new revenue streams”.

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Twitter turbulence

The Twitter post caused some “turbulence” on the social media platform, with one Tweep declaring that “They can remove my radio from my car – I would pay to have it removed from my car”.

SABC slams car radio licence as fake news

On Monday afternoon, the broadcaster dismissed the car radio licence claim as fake news.

“The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) would like to alert the public of a fake media statement which is circulating on various social media platforms titled ‘Introduction of radio licences as part of SABC’s drive to generate revenue’.

“The SABC has not issued any media statement making such public pronouncements regarding licences for car radios.”

Household broadcasting levy on the cards

In September 2021, the broadcaster submitted its plan to introduce a “household levy system” based on the possibility of access to its services — rather than actual usage of its services — to the Department of Communications.

The submission followed the approval of the SABC Bill by Cabinet in July 2021.

According to News24, the broadcaster argued that the bill also does not provide for further government grant funding for public interest programming and as such, does not secure the financial sustainability of the SABC.

“A new model of defining a technology-neutral, public broadcasting household levy has been recommended in order to secure a stable revenue source for the SABC’s public service mandate,” the submission said.

In February this year, the broadcaster also announced that it plans to introduce TV licence fees for computer monitors — even if they are not receiving broadcast signals on these devices.