The South Africa Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has urged South Africans to pay their TV licences in the new year, as the public broadcaster has faced a decline in revenue gained from TV licence fees in the 2023/2024 financial year, Cape {town} Etc reports.
The SABC has also stated that its non-compliance rate has increased to 85.6% in 2024.
According to the SABC’s Annual Report for 2023/2024, the public broadcaster collected over R686 million in TV licence fees in the past financial year.
However, the total TV licence debt has amounted to over R4.8 billion.
The SABC saw a decrease of 77% of the loss before interest and tax of R192 million from R827 million in the previous year, according to their website.
It also attained an unqualified audit for the first time in 14 years, according to IOL.
Meanwhile, the SABC has been trying to make it easier for South Africans to pay their licenses to recoup money, by allowing customers to pay their debt online.
The physical pay point network has also been extended by the SABC, to ensure that there is a location close to the consumer to pay their licenses.
Additionally, the SABC added other payment options, such as cheques or postal order payments through the postal system.
Annually, the cost of a TV licence will be R265 with the SABC encouraging South Africans to ‘pay their obligations’ to avoid hefty fines.
The SABC said that first-time television license applicants are required to pay the full annual fee of R265, with renewals that must be made annually before the license expires.
Renewal payments may be spread throughout the year at R28 per month, the broadcaster added.
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Picture: Wikimedia Commons
