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SABC launches streaming app SABC Plus
On Thursday, 17 November 2022, the South African Broadcasting Corporation officially entered the streaming era with the launch of its long anticipated Over-The-Top (OTT) platform, SABC Plus. The launch marked a major milestone for the 85 year old public broadcaster, signalling its shift from a traditional broadcast only model into a genuine multi-platform, multi-device content provider.
What SABC Plus Offered at Launch
From day one, SABC Plus was designed to bring the full breadth of the SABC’s content offering into a single, accessible streaming app. At launch, the platform included:
- All 19 of the SABC’s radio stations
- The three main free-to-air television channels, SABC 1, SABC 2, and SABC 3
- The SABC Sport channel
- The SABC’s 24-hour news channel
- A seven-day catch-up window, allowing viewers to watch content they may have missed on the simulcasted TV channels
Beyond its own catalogue, SABC Plus also introduced AMP, a subscription based add-on package that had previously belonged to Telkom’s TelkomONE streaming service. AMP brought additional live channels and on-demand content into the platform, including international offerings like BBC World News, Boing, FashionTV, and TNT Africa, giving subscribers access to a broader mix of local and international entertainment beyond the SABC’s own channels.
Why the Timing Mattered
The launch of SABC Plus was carefully timed to coincide with one of the biggest global sporting events of the year. Just three days after going live, the platform was set to stream coverage of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, with the SABC securing rights to 28 matches plus the official daily World Cup show, all available for free through the app.
To support this rollout, the SABC partnered with global electronics company Hisense, distributing the SABC Plus app directly through Hisense VIDAA Smart TVs alongside mobile devices. This partnership gave the platform an immediate, built in audience across households already using Hisense television sets, helping drive early adoption of the new service.
A Fast Turnaround for an Established Institution
What made the launch particularly notable within the industry was the speed at which it came together. According to the SABC’s head of video entertainment at the time, a project of this scale would typically have taken around 24 months to build from the ground up, yet the SABC Plus platform was reportedly delivered in under three weeks. For an 85 year old institution like the SABC, this was held up as proof that the organisation could move with genuine agility when it needed to.
At launch, users could access SABC Plus by registering through the official SABC Plus website before downloading the app via the iOS App Store, with an Android version confirmed to be following shortly after the initial rollout.
The Bigger Picture Behind the Launch
The arrival of SABC Plus came at a difficult financial moment for the public broadcaster. At the end of March 2021, the SABC had reported a net loss of R530 million, with the vast majority of TV licence holders across the country not paying their annual licence fee. Against this backdrop, SABC Plus was positioned not just as a modernisation effort, but as a genuine growth strategy, giving the broadcaster a new avenue to build long term financial sustainability while extending its public mandate to inform, educate, and entertain South Africans wherever they are.
Group CEO Madoda Mxakwe described the launch as a new digital era for the SABC, framing it as both a significant milestone for the organisation and a meaningful step toward universal access for South African audiences, regardless of how or where they choose to consume content.
A Milestone in South African Broadcasting
The launch of SABC Plus represented a genuine turning point in South African media, marking the moment the country’s national public broadcaster formally entered the streaming age alongside international platforms already active in the local market. For millions of South Africans, it meant free, on-demand access to some of the country’s most watched television and radio content, available anytime and across multiple devices, a shift that continues to shape how the SABC engages with its audiences today.
