The South African Broadcasting Corporation celebrated the first anniversary of its SABC Plus.
The SABC’s first over-the-top (OTT) streaming App was launched amidst much public anticipation on November 17 2022. In its vision for the platform, the public broadcaster anticipated the disruption it would cause to the media broadcasting landscape in South Africa.
As seen in the past weeks, sports lovers and the viewing public were well served via SABC Plus through the final match of the 2023 Cricket World Cup and the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
In its launch press release in 2022, the public broadcaster said, “SABC + signals a new digital era for the SABC and a key accomplishment in addressing universal access for all citizens. SABC + App also presents a growth path to enhancing our value offering to clients and customers to build a strong foundation for the future financial sustainability of the SABC”.
Since the launch of the platform, over 600,000 South Africans have registered. With a public mandate to ensure access to its local and international content for all South Africans, SABC Plus has become another avenue for the public broadcaster to deliver compelling television and radio content on an all-encompassing digital bouquet.
Thousands of sports lovers became part of the conclusion of the Cricket World Cup via SABC Plus. The App provides the best that SABC offers, with its 19 radio stations and three (3) free-to-air television channels: SABC 1, SABC 2, SABC 3, SABC Sports Channel, and SABC’s 24-hour news channel.
The SABC Sports Channel, which broadcasted The Rugby World Cup 2023 on the APP, was a prime example of the power of SABC Plus. Between September 8 to October 28 2023, the rugby tournament’s duration, there were 931 812 new users and 309 924 new registrations; 28 941 958 page views and 75 526 498 minutes watched.
