Television and radio remain among the most powerful channels in South Africa. They are also among the most complex environments to independently verify at scale.
At a time when every digital click is tracked and attributed, some of the country’s largest marketing investments still rely heavily on assumed delivery. Whether it is a prime-time TV slot, a national radio burst or a 30-second live read during drive time, each carries high cost and high reach.
In many cases, however, independent verification beyond post-campaign summaries remains limited. That gap is narrowing, and industry measurement is evolving.
According to PwC’s Entertainment and Media Outlook, television continues to reach more than 90% of South Africa’s urban population, reinforcing broadcast’s role as a trust anchor in a fragmented media environment.
Highly connected
Globally, 86% of internet users now use another device, primarily smartphones, while watching TV. Locally, South Africans spend an average of around nine and a half hours per day on screens, the highest globally, meaning broadcast exposure increasingly plays out across connected devices.
South Africa’s broadcast audiences are highly connected. By late 2025, there were 51.7 million internet users (79.6% penetration) and 127 million mobile connections. Broadcast content is also becoming more distributed through broadcaster-owned streaming platforms.
Government reporting noted that SABC Plus surpassed one million registered users in April 2025, later exceeding 1.5 million.
In this environment, the moment an ad airs, behaviour often shifts online.
They click, they talk
“When an ad goes live, audiences do not wait,” says Joe Hamman, director at Novus Group. “They search, they click, they talk. If you cannot pinpoint the exact second your campaign aired, you cannot confidently link exposure to response.”
In a second-screen economy, broadcast has become a trigger event. That shift has implications beyond marketing performance and extends into governance and financial oversight.
Boards and procurement teams increasingly require greater confidence in high-value media spend. Knowing that a 30-second spot aired is no longer sufficient. Brands need the actual clip, verified timestamp, and confirmed duration. Without that evidence, performance discussions remain largely speculative.
Live reads add another layer of complexity. A host endorsement can carry disproportionate influence, particularly in trusted radio environments such as breakfast and drive-time shows. Yet these moments are often the hardest to document.
Proof of what ran
By capturing live reads with exact timestamps, brands can correlate endorsement moments with spikes in website traffic, branded search, or social conversation. What was once anecdotal becomes measurable.
With decades of broadcast monitoring experience in South Africa, Novus Group also supports strategic media planning and market positioning. Monitoring regional coverage, station popularity, and competitor activity helps brands understand where rivals are investing and where audiences may be underserved.
In a tightening economy, this visibility informs allocation decisions before money is committed. In this context, monitoring is about more than volume. It is about certainty.
“Trust in broadcast is high, but trust in reporting must be higher,” says Hamman. “If you are investing in influential airtime, you should have auditable proof of what ran, when it ran, and how the market responded.”
As budgets tighten and scrutiny intensifies, broadcast advertising is entering an era of accountability. Reach still matters. But in 2026, proof matters more.
