SABC TV Before the launch of SABC TV, South Africa was already served by a few closed-circuit systems in hotels. The
South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) began airing
test cards in early 1975 on its transmitters, and trialled its first television service on 5 May 1975 in South Africa's major cities. The corporation officially launched its first television channel on 6 January 1976 under the name SABC Television/SAUK-Televisie. The launch made South Africa the last industrialised country to introduce television, with an estimated one million viewers. Approximately 222,000 television sets were tuned in for the inauguration. As in other countries, the arrival of television negatively affected other sectors of the entertainment industry, particularly cinemas. Within the corporation itself, SABC's regional radio stations experienced a loss of listeners to the new television network, although Radio 5's playlists remained unchanged. The service opened at 6:00 pm with a bilingual speech presented by Heinrich Maritz (Afrikaans) and Dorianne Berry (English), marking the culmination of a five-year project. The first programme broadcast was a special presentation from the Children's and Youth Division in Afrikaans, featuring
Haas Das and other characters created by the unit. The English-language programme
The Everywhere Express, which had featured during the test service the previous year, also formed part of the introductory broadcast. The official opening of the service took place at 8:00 pm with a speech by Prime Minister
John Vorster. As of 1977, the SABC-TV service was transmitted via eighteen transmitters: • Alverstone–
Durban–Pinetown: channel 4 •
Bloemfontein: channel 9 By 1979, SABC TV broadcasts reached 80% of the white population and 42% of the black population.
TV1 On 31 December 1981, The main network, renamed TV1, continued to divide its broadcasting time evenly between English and Afrikaans. In July 1983, the channel introduced its first non-white
continuity announcer, Vivian Solomons, who presented the Afrikaans segments and was of mixed race. As the SABC did not have a dedicated channel for mixed race or
Indian South Africans, the corporation increased the number of non-white presenters appearing on screen. However, this move attracted some viewer complaints, with nearly 40 callers contacting the corporation upon Solomons's introduction. Around 1985, TV1 began broadcasting the popular American sitcom
The Cosby Show, which moved to TV4 by early 1986. The decision to air the series on TV1 was based on the reasoning that, had it aired on the TV2 and TV3 networks, it would have been dubbed into one of the target languages, potentially diminishing its humour and cultural nuance. A local sitcom comparable to
All in the Family, titled
People Like Us, was filmed throughout 1987 but did not air until 23 December 1989. It was broadcast late at night (10:25 pm on Saturdays) to avoid offending white audiences, and to ensure that children of all races were asleep at the time. One viewer accused the corporation of cowardice, arguing that the series should have been broadcast in a prime-time weekday slot to attract a broader audience. The series aired only weeks before
Nelson Mandela's 11 February 1990 speech, which was broadcast by the SABC and marked a significant break from its previous editorial biases. The end of
Apartheid brought radical changes to the channel, which sought to distance itself from its segregated past. Ethnic diversity became more visible on screen; for example, the morning show
Good Morning South Africa featured a white man and a Black woman co-presenting—something that would have been impossible during Apartheid. In 1992, four non-white presenters were hired for current affairs programming and four more for religious programmes. On 21 September 1993, the SABC signed an agreement with
Sky News allowing TV1 to air the channel during its off-air hours from 15 October that year, similar to the arrangement sister channel CCV had with
CNN International. Beginning in October 1993, TV1 aired the series
Future Imperfect, in which political figures from both the ruling and opposition parties debated hypothetical scenarios. The programme was broadcast late at night, at 10:15 pm on Thursdays, which limited viewership among Black audiences. The channel was still perceived as biased towards President
F. W. de Klerk, while CCV was viewed as favouring
Mandela. Following the 1994 democratic elections, it was suggested that TV1 should transition to an entirely English-language channel. By October 1994, discussions were underway to restructure the SABC's three television channels, with two adopting mixed-language schedules and the third operating as a fully English-language, profit-oriented entertainment network. At this time, the channel's slogan was "This one's for you!" (). In February 1996, following a decision made in November 1995, TV1 was rebranded as SABC 2. Under the new structure, the channel increased its English-language programming in line with demographic research findings. Across the three SABC channels, 65% of prime-time content was to be broadcast in English. The SABC had planned this change a year earlier, as several advertisers had threatened to withdraw their commercials from TV1 due to the planned reduction of Afrikaans content—from 50% of weekly airtime to 10%. TV1 was expected to become an all-English channel.
SABC 2 In 1996, the SABC reorganised its three television networks with the aim of making them more representative of South Africa's various language groups. These were renamed SABC 3 (formerly TV1), SABC 1 (formerly CCV), and SABC 2 (formerly NNTV). The amount of time allocated to Afrikaans-language programming on the new channel, SABC 2, fell from 50% to 15%, a move that alienated many Afrikaans speakers. A spokesperson for the SABC stated that such a reduction was "inevitable in the post-apartheid era" and acknowledged that the SABC had not fully adhered to the
Independent Broadcasting Authority's (IBA) recommendations. Later that year, the SABC announced that SABC 2 would focus more on public service programming. On 1 December 1997, the channel adopted a new look. In July 1998, the channel signed a contract with Urban Brew Studios to produce a new breakfast show,
am2day. The programme was initially scheduled to debut in mid-September but was delayed by two weeks as the studios were not yet ready. To counter the launch of
e.tv, the SABC reformatted SABC 2 as a channel focusing on educational and social issues. In October 1999, it was announced that the contract with Urban Brew Studios would end that month, and
am2day would be replaced by a new breakfast show produced internally by the SABC to optimise its resources. Urban Brew staff criticised the decision, claiming they were the targets of a slander campaign. On 4 January 2000, the channel adjusted its evening news bulletins, with the Afrikaans bulletin airing at 7:00 p.m. and the Sesotho bulletin at 9:00 p.m. In 2002, the channel described itself as "the voice, the heart and the mind of South Africans", citing its extensive broadcast footprint—the largest of any SABC terrestrial network. Seeking to expand its audience among Black and Afrikaans viewers, the channel aimed to increase its local content, reflecting diverse South African cultures and communities. Three new projects were developed:
The Res,
Dark City and
Zero Tolerance.
7de Laan increased its weekly episodes to four, while
Muvhango entered its third season in April that year. In April 2003, SABC 2 announced twelve new original programmes, with a combined budget of US$4 million. These included sitcoms, documentaries, dramas, and a family game show. On 11 May, the channel began carrying a
History Channel programming block under an agreement with AETN. On 1 March 2013, SABC 2 adopted its current logo. Blue became the primary colour of the channel's branding, accompanied by red, yellow, and green accents. However, at the time of rebranding, its programming was still described as "dated". SABC 2 was initially scheduled to begin high-definition broadcasts via
DStv in July 2018, but the HD broadcasts officially commenced on 8 August 2018. In August 2025, the SABC cancelled
Muvhango, depriving the channel of a substantial primetime programme in the Venda language. == Programming ==