So when the news emerged today that the SABC has made a request to Icasa that it be allowed to decide when prime time news is broadcast, we have to confess, our ears did prick up.

“For the SABC the move is less about censorship and more about massively declining audiences and seeking to retain advertising revenue. News is down generally, for audience figures.  This isn’t only for broadcasters but print media too.  So partly the application is a response to the digital revolution, and an effort to make more money through advertising if they broadcast more popular shows during prime time,” says Thandi Smith, Head of Policy Unit at Media Monitoring Africa

Nick Cowen, ‘’Rands, not censorship, may be behind the SABC axing prime time news,’’ htx.africa, 31 October 2016