Radio has always faced industry disruptors head-on, offering a broad overview of an agile sector that requires even greater resilience, relatability and relevance to counter ongoing challenges.
I recently read a social post that urged the radio industry to stop explaining why it wasn’t dead, but why it was alive and thriving. A similar positioning but with a positive sentiment.
With the closure of MTV at the end of 2025 we can finally put ‘Video Killed the Radio Star’ in a rest category and focus on what we should: high rotation and currents!
As an industry, radio has reached a point of broadcast maturity. The SABC’s oldest station celebrates 89 years of transmission in 2025; the community sector has 21 years of growth and discovery, while commercial radio has a 40-year legacy with six ex-SABC stations privatised in the mid-’90s, and several other commercial giants established thereafter.
There is an established framework. The three-tier system serves audiences across the
country in different ways. There are industry bodies (SACRO, The NAB, The NCRF) self-regulation mechanisms through the BCCSA, an established licensing system and a regulatory framework managed (or mismanaged) by ICASA.
There are networks, agreements, sales houses, suppliers, clients, agencies and audiences. Despite the yearly threats of new platforms and technologies, radio thrives.
But is it in a rinse and repeat cycle? Are we simply maximising what has been refined over the years with little new magic?
Consolidating teams, reducing staff, juniorising positions, selling everything to maximise yield and EBITDA while stripping out creativity seems to be the slow creep, that isn’t so slow anymore!
Where are we and where are we going?
Getting to grips with regulation
ICASA is grappling with digital transformation, mobile networks, Starlink licencing, as well as spectrum and bandwidth.
The regulator has been at loggerheads with the community sector around the provisions of licensing renewals for community radio: in 2021 only five stations were licensed after 104 applications were submitted, leading to a legal dispute that resulted in a Supreme Court of Appeal ruling that ICASA had misinterpreted its own regulations. The ruling has been welcomed by the sector and their representatives.
This year’s call for interested parties to apply for community broadcasting and radio licenses received much criticism and hopefully, the exhaustive public consultation process will yield better results in 2026, as community radio continues to act as a vital conduit in community dialogue and pluralism.
I think the question of sustainability of the sector hasn’t been addressed adequately; starting a community station is cheap or easy.
Heated exchanges
A Compliance Workshop for Individual Broadcast Licensees operating in the commercial radio sector in October, held in Johannesburg, saw several station delegates leave after a heated exchange between an ICASA employee and station representatives regarding music playlisting and local quotas.
The spat might indicate the general feeling of the two parties towards each other.
With 2 052 days since ICASA made a ruling on timelines and deliverables regarding Rhythm and Beat FM, the stations (still) remain curiously quiet. I believe it’s time for the regulator to act definitively and revoke the licenses and empower others with an opportunity to try and serve those markets.
Ministerial oversight
Communications and digital technologies minister, Solly Malatsi, has had a busy time in the broadcast space, mainly regarding rolling issues with the parastatals in his portfolio. Silence in broadcasting is never good, and this is also true of the silence over the SABC Bill.
It has still not been formally withdrawn by parliament despite Malatsi indicating he would do so in December 2024. Calls by concerned parties and the public have not created the pressure needed to move the matter forward.
No progress is also the status quo in the analogue switch off debacle. It has been costly and confusing. No date is set for final switch off and no plan seems to be forthcoming either. The uncertainty cannot be good for strategic planning at the SABC.
Malatsi allocated R704 million to the SABC over three years in his July 2025 budget, to be used for public mandate delivery, content production and Channel Africa.
SABC funding model
In September Malatsi appointed a consulting firm to develop a funding model for the SABC to be delivered by December 2025. Is there not enough information on other successful public broadcasting models from around the world and heaps of opinion from the public hearings held to guide this process?
In my opinion, consultants have never been good for the SABC; there is too much contextual complexity that can’t be gathered in a three-month process.
Lastly, Malatsi also hauled SABC management over the coals in September regarding their outstanding R1.2 billion bill to Sentech.
It is estimated the SABC owes Sentech R70 million per month for transmission services and interest on their debt. What are the chances the government allows Sentech to switch off the SABC and what are the chances the SABC will have R1.2 billion to service their debt?
The public broadcaster
One has to commend SABC public radio. A staple in the country’s radio offerings, despite their well-documented challenges, their commitment to audiences remains steadfast.
I have been impressed by the quality of their branded station events including the Maskandi Festival (Ukhozi FM cultural music festival), Impolo Yabihlobo (Umhlobowene FM annual family event) and the Royal Heritage Festival (Phalaphala FM’s cultural event), among others.
SABC commercial radio boasts the flagship Metro FM, while sister station 5FM is still regrouping after several setbacks triggered by the 90/10 rule nine years ago in 2016. Collectively I believe they can spearhead a steady commercial recovery for SABC Radio, supported by the public portfolio.
It does, however, require a more agile approach to sales and advertising which has seemed to dog the SABC for several years.
Powerful offering
SABC+ has been a powerful addition to the traditional SABC offering and it would be good to see some innovative radio programming and ideas come to life on the digital platform.
A healthy SABC can only be positive to the broader industry. They remain a key employer in the creative sector, the largest broadcaster in Africa and a vital source of news, information and entertainment to roughly 60% of the country’s population.
Mother tongue broadcasting deserves more recognition across the industry and in my opinion, holds untapped value in delivering advertising and sponsorship revenues for the SABC.
The organisation remains stifled by failing infrastructure, old technology and staff structures that no longer serve the needs of a thriving public broadcaster.
Research updated
Commercial radio continues to drive internal independent research. This is key to financial success, and showing value to advertisers and shareholders. Interesting integrations into digital data and trends as well as multi-platform datasets have long been standard in commercial radio rate cards.
The symbiotic relationship radio holds with other platforms will continue to drive integrated campaign conversations and audience engagement
The announcement by the Broadcast Research Council of South Africa that a new service provider has been appointed to handle an updated approach to radio measurement is welcome but overdue. One must wonder if the industry will ever be able to rebuild advertisers’ confidence in data after a two-year hiatus.
Coupled to this the community sector as well as some secondary market stations have always questioned the robustness of the data in that it doesn’t favour smaller samples and rural areas.
With the first new research and methodology being implemented in Q1 in 2026, a lot of work needs to be done to build confidence both within the industry and with those who use the data.
Talent, training and development
The Y Academy has a long history of unearthing raw talent and introducing new voices with an unfiltered edge to the station. The initiative, which lay dormant for several years, has been relaunched this year. Kudos to them for bringing it back to life and investing in the next generation.
Hot 1027 has also invested in training, with a community-focused broadcast introduction programme that has been running for several years. The HOT 1027 Academy has graduated several people into the community radio sector and introduced several more to the world of audio and media.
The closing of the WITS Radio Academy as a specialised radio training centre, after being absorbed into the Wits School of Journalism, has left a great gap in the formal training of graduates and mid-career professionals looking to enhance their skills.
I’ve yet to meet a station, broadcast manager or radio group that is confident about their next cohort of talent. One must ask established commercial broadcasters where the next generation of drive time hosts will come from; certainly not from the weekend and overnight crew earning R200 an hour, or from the campus sector who can only do so much with the time and resources they have.
The need to formalise a system requires some like-minded thinking and an actual commitment to do doing so. The hire isn’t hiding behind a community radio award entry; their potential and talent are, but their mentoring and coaching aren’t!
All things audio and AI
Radio has always faced industry disruptors head-on. The medium’s agility has created versatile approaches to new technologies, platforms and audiences.
AI is no different. There isn’t a prompt that can replace the connectivity that radio creates. 2025 has seen many conversations around the news value chain, efficiencies in administration, scheduling and communication.
If radio adopts its “friends with everyone” approach AI will be no different, as the medium adapts and morphs.
In many ways 2025 has been the same as 2024 and 2023. Bigger expectations, less budget, fewer resources, extreme competition, little collaboration and more anxiety to perform.
Big burn, high rotation!
So how do we avoid radio becoming a rinse and repeat scenario?
We acknowledge communities. We place audiences at the centre of all our decision making. We embrace multi-platform content with the resources it requires. We create career paths for talent and engage with honesty regarding our needs.
We celebrate audio and use it more of it when creating radio (on-air, on-line or on-demand). We tell better stories, and we tell people why radio is alive. More resilience, relatability and relevance.
Less rinse and repeat.
Tim Zunckel is a media creative, audio ambassador, strategist and leader.
