The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) is once again thrilled to note the substantial growth that SABC News continues to register across its various platforms. Boasting an increase in its market share, the SABC News Channel now leads the 24-hour news market in the country. The latest Broadcast Research Council (BRC) data shows an improved market share performance of 42% and 40% in the national (including DTT) and DSTV news markets, respectively.
Considering that four years ago the SABC News Channel accounted for only 14.7% audience share, with the main competitor at 54%, the current performance data is a demonstration of growing public trust and confidence in the public news service. Additionally, COVID-19 coverage and targeted updates on the global pandemic certainly attracted audiences across SABC News platforms. This is at the heart of the SABC’s public mandate as the primary carrier of public messaging and information, to enable citizens to take necessary precautionary measures to protect themselves and prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
News and Current Affairs Group Executive, Phathiswa Magopeni, says, “As the country’s public news service, SABC News is unswerving in its Independent and Impartial journalistic ethos, whose obligation and loyalty is to the citizens. It continues to reengineer itself to respond swiftly to the rapidly evolving news and information needs of the citizenry.
This is crucial for public participation in enriching and strengthening the country’s democracy”. With regard to free-to-air television news audiences, eight of the 10 most viewed news products nationally are broadcast on SABC 1 and SABC 2. That means SABC News contributes 80% of the Top 10 news broadcasts. IsiXhosa and IsiZulu news bulletins continue to lead the pack with more than 4.5 million viewers. The two news services have
also started publishing their content on their SABC News YouTube microsites, Iindaba and Izindaba.
Furthermore, SABC News programming on radio and digital platforms has continued to enable convenient up-to-the-minute access to news and current affairs content, and extensive audience engagement opportunities. It is through sheer determination and commitment of the public broadcaster’s journalists that we have been able to achieve this level and quality of performance. Magopeni says, “SABC News journalists continue to work diligently in exceptionally challenging circumstances, to ensure that the public news service delivers unquestionably on its mandate, and resolutely pursues its ethos in providing incisive watchdog public service journalism in South Africa”.