For 50 years, television in South Africa has been shaped as much by technology as by culture. From the country’s late but ambitious leap straight into colour broadcasting in 1976, to the arrival of satellite TV, high-definition production, digital terrestrial standards and today’s streaming-first world, there have been major technical shifts.
This is the third in a series of articles TechCentral is publishing this week to mark the anniversary of the launch of television broadcasting in South Africa on 5 January 1976. Visit our front page for more.
This timeline traces the tech and broadcast milestones that transformed how South Africans produce, deliver and watch TV – and how the medium has evolved from a national transmitter network into a fully digital, multi-platform ecosystem.
January 1976: TV officially launches
- The SABC introduces monochrome and colour-capable phase alternating (PAL-I) signal, aligning with Europe and not the National Television Standards Committee, which was used in the US. South Africa commits directly to colour at launch.
- TV1 is broadcast from the SABC in Auckland Park, Johannesburg, and is divided evenly between English and Afrikaans.
Late 1970s–1980s: National expansion
- 1978-1983: More than 500 transmitters are rolled out through national transmitter expansion, extending reach to most urban and many rural areas.
- 1982: The SABC introduces two new services, TV2 (in isiZulu and isiXhosa) and TV3 (Sotho , Northern Sotho and Tswana), aimed at a black, urban audience.
- 1984: TV4 begins with a focus on sports and entertainment.
- 1986: M-Net launches as the country’s first private pay-TV channel to offer premium entertainment beyond the public broadcaster. It evolves into MultiChoice with the launch of DStv in the 1990s and becomes a major African entertainment brand.
1990-1999: Tech modernisation and new players
- 1990: Launch of M-Net Open Time. The first private subscription broadcaster that expands its reach with a free hour daily and drives decoder adoption.
- 1995: MultiChoice launches DStv, marking the start of digital satellite TV in South Africa. The major technological leap to digital MPEG-2 compression and multi-channel satellite delivery allowed many digital channels to be delivered through a single satellite feed.
- 1996: SABC channels are officially rebranded, with the introduction of SABC 1, SABC 2 and SABC 3.
2000-2010: Satellite innovation and early digital era
- 2000: The widespread adoption of digital production sees the SABC move to digital cameras, editing and newsroom systems.
- 2003: M-Net launches the world’s first dual-view decoder, allowing two different channels to be watched on separate televisions from a single DStv subscription. It starts high-definition test broadcasts via satellite.
- 2005: DStv’s first PVR, a standard-definition machine, launches, introducing audiences to time-shifted, watch-anytime viewing.
- 2008: Launch of the HD PVR brings high-definition recording and broadcasts.
- 2010: DStv introduces Catch Up, allowing users to record content delivered via satellite for later viewing.
2010-2020: Streaming, OTT and digital migration pressure
- 2010: YouTube launches a country-specific version for South Africa. It was the first domain launch for YouTube on the African continent.
- 2011: The start of digital terrestrial television roll-out. South Africa adopts the DVB-T2 (digital video broadcasting – second generation terrestrial) for delivering digital TV over the airwaves, but only after a long political and commercial fight.
- 2015: Showmax, the first African-born major streaming service, launches in South Africa.
- 2016: Netflix begins its Africa operations in South Africa, triggering a major shift in content distribution and consumer behaviour.
2020–2024: Full digital era and decline of traditional linear TV
- 2020: Lockdown drives a spike in streaming adoption, with record growth for Showmax, Netflix and YouTube. Broadcasters accelerate over-the-top offerings.
- 2021: South Africa’s analogue switch-off deadline of 31 March 2022, which was never met, is announced.
- 2022: SABC Plus is launched as the SABC’s new streaming platform, taking over from the TelkomOne.
- 2025: Communications minister Solly Malatsi loses analogue broadcasting switch-off court case, with those opposed warning that it will leave millions of people without satellite dishes and set-top boxes with no access to TV. A new date has not been set.
- 2025: Multichoice delists and France’s Groupe Canal+ takes full control of the broadcaster, marking the end of an era. – © 2026 NewsCentral Media
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