Many Afrikaans-speaking South Africans were left disappointed over the weekend of April 5 and 6, 2025, when the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) failed to broadcast any Afrikaans news bulletins on SABC 2. This unexpected absence raised eyebrows, as there was no prior warning or explanation for the lack of programming, leading to concerns that the broadcaster had quietly pulled Afrikaans news off the air.
According to TV with Thinus, the SABC issued a statement acknowledging the error, attributing the non-broadcast to a scheduling oversight. The statement read, "The South African Broadcasting Corporation wishes to address concerns arising from the non-broadcast of the Afrikaans television news bulletin this past weekend. This should not have happened." The SABC expressed regret for any confusion the error may have caused, particularly within Afrikaans-speaking communities, and offered an apology.
In its statement, the SABC assured the public that there is no plan to discontinue or deprioritize Afrikaans news programming. It confirmed that the Afrikaans TV news bulletin would continue as scheduled from Monday to Friday at 20:30 on SABC 3, with weekend bulletins airing at 18:00 on Saturdays and Sundays on SABC 2. The broadcaster emphasized that Afrikaans remains a vital part of its public broadcasting mandate, just like all South African languages.
"Afrikaans remains an important part of our public broadcasting mandate, just as all South African languages are," the SABC stated, adding that it is committed to providing equitable access to news and information in all official South African languages. Additionally, the SABC mentioned it is working on expanding its content and developing a broader scheduling strategy to enhance its language offerings, including Afrikaans. "This process is part of our new financial year’s content strategy and will be communicated more fully in due course," the SABC noted.
This incident comes nearly a year after the public broadcaster faced backlash for moving Afrikaans TV news bulletins from SABC 2 to SABC 3 during the week, placing them in a later time slot of 20:30. Weekend bulletins were also rescheduled from their previous time of 18:15 to 18:00. The SABC had also canceled the popular Afrikaans soap opera 7de Laan in 2023 after nearly 24 years on air and almost 6,000 episodes, citing that the viewer figures no longer justified its commercial value.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) welcomed the confirmation from Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies, Solly Malatsi, that the absence of the Afrikaans news bulletin was due to an unfortunate scheduling error by the SABC. The DA expressed appreciation for the minister's prompt intervention, which helped clarify the situation for the public. The sudden absence of the Afrikaans news bulletin over the weekend caused unnecessary confusion and concern, particularly for the over 300,000 viewers who rely on the program for vital news in their preferred language.
Willie Aucamp, a spokesperson for the DA, described the move as "troubling" and demanded that the SABC provide immediate clarification on why this essential service was halted without warning. He emphasized the importance of understanding whether this was a permanent change, a one-time incident, or something else entirely. The DA remains committed to holding the SABC accountable as the public broadcaster, which has a duty to serve all language communities across the country.
In response to the incident, AfriForum, a civil rights organization, also raised concerns about the sudden halt of the Afrikaans news bulletin on SABC2. They have written to the chairperson, CEO, and management of the SABC seeking an explanation. Alana Bailey, AfriForum's head of cultural affairs, stated, "No explanation has been offered for this failure to broadcast, and viewers are upset about the disregard for the Afrikaans audience’s access to news." She highlighted that access to vital information in one of the official languages of the country is the most important reason for the SABC’s existence.
Bailey further criticized the SABC's recent history of budget shortfalls, questioning why Afrikaans news, which reportedly serves as a key source of advertising revenue, would be subject to such fluctuations without explanation. She noted that Afrikaans consumers represent a significant portion of the market, making it perplexing that the SABC would choose to alienate this demographic. "About a third of the market is Afrikaans. This makes it even more incomprehensible that the SABC is choosing to kill a proverbial goose that is laying golden eggs," Bailey remarked.
As the SABC grapples with its internal oversight processes, the public and various stakeholders are keenly observing how the broadcaster will handle the situation moving forward. The SABC's commitment to serving all language communities and ensuring equitable access to news will be crucial as it navigates the fallout from this incident.
While the SABC has assured the public that the Afrikaans news bulletin will continue as scheduled, the incident serves as a reminder of the sensitivities surrounding language representation in South Africa's media landscape. With Afrikaans being one of the country's official languages, the SABC's approach to broadcasting news in Afrikaans will remain under scrutiny as it seeks to rebuild trust with its audience.
