They warned on Friday at Icasa hearings that millions of South Africans still rely on public-interest broadcasting to make informed decisions about their lives.
In a joint presentation to Icasa, which is reviewing the digital migration regulations of 2012, Uyanda Siyotula, national coordinator at the SOS Coalition, and William Bird, executive director at MMA, said large financial interests should not determine how the migration to digital is done.
"The licence conditions of the SABC and community broadcasters need to reflect the guarantees provided in regard to multiplex allocation with certain obligations to prioritise South African content. SOS Coalition and MMA recommend that assignments of capacity on the multiplexes must ensure the future viability of the SABC and community television," the two lobby groups said in their presentation.
SOS Coalition and MMA said the department of communications digital technologies has been unclear on the progress regarding the migration to digital since the analogue switch-off deadline was announced by minister Mondli Gungubele in July 2023. The organisations also accused parliament of failing to play its oversight role over the communications department to account "for a fair digital migration process that leaves no one behind".
Bird said any migration that leaves a significant portion of the population behind will lead to an existential crisis for the national broadcaster.
