Communications & digital technologies minister Solly Malatsi will consult with the cabinet after the high court in Pretoria ordered him to stop plans to switch off analogue broadcasting, a move “which would leave millions without access to television”, pending the outcome of a legal dispute.
The analogue switch-off, scheduled for March 31, is aligned with the government’s digital migration policy.
However, it was argued in court the decision to switch off analogue broadcasting would leave millions of people without satellite dishes and set-top boxes with no access to TV and, essentially, information.
The court battle against the government was initiated by e.tv, which was joined by nonprofit organisations Media Monitoring Africa and SOS Support Public Broadcasting Coalition (SOS). The TV station argued its case on the basis of the Right to freedom of expression, flagging that this includes the freedom to receive information. It said this would be irreparably harmed if the state was not be stopped.
“About 12-million people rely on analogue broadcasting because they cannot afford satellite or digital terrestrial television broadcasting,” e.tv argued, saying it would therefore be unfair to cut it off.
The government announced on December 5 2024 that analogue television broadcasting would be permanently switched off on March 31. The court ruled in favour of the applicants on Thursday and ordered the government to suspend the analogue switch-off date pending legal review of the decision.
Malatsi contended in court the delay in digital migration was costly to the government.
“The broadcasting digital migration project has been delayed by many years. These delays have resulted in expenditure exceeding R1.3bn over the years under dual illumination costs,” he said.
“The government has now taken a policy decision that it can no longer afford to fund dual illumination [both digital and analogue broadcasts] because of limited funds and priorities to finance.”
He told the court by February this year, 391,513 households (1,252,841 people) were registered for set-top boxes from the government but had not yet received them.
Judge Selby Baqwa criticised the government for this, saying Malatsi opposed the application and yet admitted thousands of people would have access only in December 2025 after receiving their set-top boxes.
“The harm is not just temporary inconvenience. Each day without access to news, public service announcements and educational programming results in irreversible loss of knowledge, awareness and democratic participation,” the judgment read.
“In this case, if the applicants are not granted interim relief, but succeed on review, millions of South Africans would have been plunged into a television blackout and free-to-air broadcasters would have suffered not only audience losses but also severe financial harm which are not capable of repair by the reviewing court.”
Malatsi said after the court order he would consult with the cabinet.
“I am studying the judgment with the [department’] legal team to guide how best to proceed on this matter. We will communicate in detail once we have concluded consultations including the cabinet,” he said.
The judgment was a big win for Media Monitoring Africa and SOS.
“We celebrate a victory not only of a rights-focused judgment, but also celebrate how the court was able to highlight the importance of the analogue switch-off decision. Had it been allowed to go ahead, the rights of millions of people would have been grossly violated,” the organisations said.
Parliament’s portfolio committee on communications and digital technologies noted the court’s decision.
“While the committee notes the importance of the digital switchover to ensure that SA is on par with global trends in adopting digital technologies, it is more important that the constitutional obligations and court rulings are upheld in the interest of inclusivity,” it said in a statement.
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