61 % Market share growth for SABC News

Johannesburg, Friday, 14 December 2018 – The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) is pleased to announce a healthy audience share growth of SABC News on different platforms. This follows the successful launch of its repositioned brand with the tagline ‘Independent and Impartial,’ in June this year, and a consistent imaging prompted by the need to reaffirm its role as the trusted news content provider in South Africa and beyond.

The SABC News Channel (404) on DSTV bouquet has grown significantly, achieving a 14 068 (61%) increase of the average monthly market share for the period, June to November 2018 compared to June to November 2017. In the period June to November 2017, the Channel obtained an average monthly market share of 21 700 (23%). In direct comparison with the same period this year, the SABC News Channel acquired an average monthly market share of 35 768 (37%). The SABC News Channel remains the second highest viewed channel on the DSTV bouquet.

In the Top 30 most viewed programmes on free-to-air channels (FTA) SABC isiXhosa and isiZulu News are ranked in the Top 10, occupying the 6th and 7th spots respectively. Most notably, these are the only news programmes that appear in the Top 30 most viewed on FTA channels.

On its digital platforms, SABC News continues to grow steadily with its YouTube channel (SABC Digital News) nearly doubling its monthly average views from just over 5 million per month in 2017 to just below 10 million views on average per month in 2018. The live streaming of former US President Barack Obama’sMandela Lecture in July on SABC Digital News was the most popular video of the year, with more than 13.6 million views from around the globe. This made July the month with the highest SABC News video views in 2018, with more than 22 million views.

Twitter followers (@SABCNewsOnline) increased from about 940 000 at the end of 2017 to more than 1 170 000 a year later, going over the one million mark in 2018. Facebook (SABCNewsOnline) likes increased from more than 690 000 a year ago to more than 855 000 currently.
SABC News delivers current affairs programming in diverse languages on the SABC’s 19 radio stations, including XKFM which broadcasts in!Xun and Khwe.

The Group Executive of News and Current Affairs, Ms. Phathiswa Magopeni describes the growth of SABC News audience as a huge motivation for our division, and the SABC as a public service broadcaster. Ms. Magopeni states “we are pleased with the audience growth, as we get a sense of assurance that we are on the right track, and continue to strengthen the public news service as the only extensive, all-inclusive, diverse and multilingual news organisation in South Africa, that remains Independent and Impartial.”
Ms. Magopeni further says that “with national elections coming up in 2019, SABC News, through its Independent and Impartial coverage, will continue to reflect the South African story in an unrestrained, responsible and balanced manner”.

In its ongoing effort to strengthen the brand’s presence, SABC News is also launching an integrated brand campaign #IamSABCNews, meant to bring forth the workforce behind the delivery of the credible, comprehensive news content that the public receives daily. The campaign gives audiences a glimpse into the hard-working news staff, who are committed to ensuring that South Africans and the continent are informed and educated about the world around them.