The South African public broadcaster says smartwatches don’t require a SABC TV Licence. (Getty Images)
The South African public broadcaster says smartwatches don’t require a SABC TV licence. The clarification comes after rumours spread online this week that the SABC now requires TV licences for smartwatches.
After a similar online hoax spread in May 2023, the SABC stated that a SABC TV licence is not required for a car radio. Now, South Africans have been threatened that they need a licence to buy, wear and use a smartwatch.
READ | SABC confirms car radio licence ‘press statement’ is fake
“The SABC can confirm its fake news and that a TV licence has never been a requirement to purchase a smartwatch,” Mmoni Seapolelo, SABC spokesperson, tells News24 in response to a media query.
A staggering 87% of South African TV households on the SABC’s TV licence register no longer bother to pay their annual SABC TV licence fee of R265.
The South African government and the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies have been stalling for years to abolish the SABC TV licence system in its current form and replace it with a better system.
France abolished its TV licence in 2022, and the BBC in the United Kingdom is on track to abolish its TV licence fee in 2027.
ALSO READ | Blank screens loom: SOS Coalition demands halt to SA’s impending analogue TV switch-off
We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
