20 March 2025, Broadcast Media
William Bird, director of Media Monitoring Africa, reinforced this message, highlighting that approximately 28.5% of South Africans rely solely on free-to-air services for television access. “If the switch-off moves forward as scheduled, it risks leaving 4.5 million households without any viewership,” Bird stated, stressing that such a scenario is unacceptable for the nation’s most vulnerable communities.