SABC News is the news division of the SABC, South Africa's public broadcaster. The division produces news content for the SABC's platforms, including bulletins for its television channels, radio stations, and digital properties, in English and other national languages.
History
The News Service was established in June 1950, replacing the programmes of the BBC. Although this was because the BBC broadcasts were seen as giving a British viewpoint of current affairs, there were also concerns that the SABC service would become overly pro-government, or "Our Master's Voice". By 1968, it had over 100 full-time reporters in the main cities and local correspondents all over the country, with overseas news provided by Reuters, AFP, AP and UPI. There was a News Film Unit which, prior to television in 1976, produced films for news agencies and television organisations.
During the apartheid regime, SABC News was understood as "his Master's Voice", a mere propaganda tool.[1]
In 1998, the SABC began to broadcast two TV channels to the rest of Africa: SABC Africa, a news service, and Africa 2 Africa, entertainment programming from South Africa and other African countries, via DStv.[2] In 2003, Africa 2 Africa was merged with SABC Africa to create a hybrid service, drawing programming from both sources.[3] SABC Africa closed in August 2008 after the SABC's contract with DStv was not renewed.[4] In 2007, the SABC launched a 24-hour international news channel, SABC News International, but closed in 2010.[5]
On 1 August 2013, SABC News launched a 24-hour news channel on DStv, as part of an agreement with MultiChoice that also saw the launch of SABC Encore.[6] SABC News head Jimi Matthews stated that the channel was part of an effort by the SABC to account for changing viewing habits, explaining that "very few people are still satisfied waiting for bulletins in the evening. Previously, it was appointment viewing, where you rushed home to watch the 8 p.m. news. While we see continuous growth in radio news offerings, digital sites are exploding in growth. There is a decline in the television news service. If you are going to produce television news, you have to play in the 24-hour space."[7] In 2018, MultiChoice renewed its agreement with the SABC.[6]
