Editing SABC 2 (section)

==History==
South Africa was already served by some closed-circuit systems in hotels before SABC-TV started.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/BOOKSHELF-ARH/Business/World-Communicatiions-Unesco-1975.pdf |title=World Communications |date=1975 |publisher=[[UNESCO]] |accessdate=19 April 2024 |page=112 }}</ref> SABC began airing test cards in early 1975 on its transmitters<ref>{{cite web |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-YB/1977-TV-Factbook/1977-TV-Factbook.pdf |title=Television |date=March 1975 |accessdate=5 February 2024 |page=1121 }}</ref> and started trialling its first television service on 5 May 1975 in South Africa's largest cities, and officially launched its first television channel on 6 January 1976 under the name SABC Television/SAUK-Televisie. The launch of SABC-TV caused South Africa to become the last country in the industrialised world to introduce television and had a viewership base of one million. Around 222,000 television sets were tuned in to the inauguration.<ref>{{cite news |last=Botha |first=Koos |title=Gala-wegspring vir SAUK-TV! |trans-title=Gala launch for SABC-TV! |url=https://gpa.eastview.com/dtsa/?a=d&d=dtsa19760106-01.1.1 |access-date=30 January 2025 |work=[[Die Transvaler]] |date=6 January 1976 |page=1 |location=[[Johannesburg]], South Africa |language=af |via=East View Global Press Archive}}</ref> As with other countries, the launch of television had negative effects in other sectors of the country's entertainment industry, especially cinemas. Within the corporation, SABC's regional radio stations would suffer from loss of listeners to the new television network, but Radio 5's playlists remained unchanged.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/70s/1976/Billboard%201976-02-14.pdf |title=Billboard |date=14 February 1976 |accessdate=5 February 2024 |page=46 }}</ref>

The service opened at 6pm with a bilingual opening speech presented by Heinrich Maritz (Afrikaans) and Dorianne Berry (English), the culmination of a five-year project. The first programme seen was a special presentation from the Children's and Youth division, in Afrikaans, which presented [[Haas Das se Nuuskas|Haas Kas]] and other characters produced by the unit. The English-language The Everywhere Express, which had been shown in the test service the previous year, was also introductory in nature.<ref name="UPretoria">{{cite web |title=TELEVISION COMES TO SOUTH AFRICA
|url=https://repository.up.ac.za/bitstream/handle/2263/24845/07chapter7.pdf?sequence=8&isAllowed=y |access-date=5 February 2024 |website=University of Pretoria |date=2008 |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20220320094055/https://repository.up.ac.za/bitstream/handle/2263/24845/07chapter7.pdf?sequence=8&isAllowed=y |archive-date=20 March 2022}}</ref>

The official opening of the service was at 8pm with a speech from Prime Minister [[John Vorster]].<ref name="UPretoria"/>

As of 1977, the SABC-TV service was delivered over eighteen transmitters:
*Alverstone-[[Durban]]-Pinetown: channel 4<ref name=tvfactbook>{{cite web |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-YB/1977-TV-Factbook/1977-TV-Factbook.pdf |title=Television Factbook |date=1977 |accessdate=31 March 2021 |page=1121 }}</ref>
*[[Bloemfontein]]: channel 9<ref name=tvfactbook></ref>
*[[Cape Town]]: channel 8<ref name=tvfactbook></ref>
*Davel-Bethal-Ermelo: channel 22 (UHF)<ref name=tvfactbook></ref>
*East London: channel 9<ref name=tvfactbook></ref>
*George Mosselbay: channel 5<ref name=tvfactbook></ref>
*Glencoe-Dundee: channel 27 (UHF)<ref name=tvfactbook></ref>
*Hartbeesfontein-Klerksdorp: channel 45 (UHF)<ref name=tvfactbook></ref>
*[[Johannesburg]]: channel 13<ref name=tvfactbook></ref>
*Kimberley: channel 4<ref name=tvfactbook></ref>
*Kroonstad: channel 57 (UHF)<ref name=tvfactbook></ref>
*Middelburg-Witbank: channel 41 (UHF)<ref name=tvfactbook></ref>
*Port Elizabeth-Uitenhage: channel 7<ref name=tvfactbook></ref>
*Port Shepstone-Margate: channel 8<ref name=tvfactbook></ref>
*[[Pretoria]]: channel 5<ref name=tvfactbook></ref>
*Theunissen: channel 5<ref name=tvfactbook></ref>
*Villiersdorp: channel 7<ref name=tvfactbook></ref>
*Welverdiend-Potchefstroom: channel 7<ref name=tvfactbook></ref>

Two years after launch, a South African Sunday newspaper called the service "prissy and pricey": "prissy" due to the strict moral standards of the SABC and "pricey" due to the high costs of both buying a television set and paying the licence fee. The introduction of television advertising would at the time threaten advertisers in newspapers. The schedule lasted for five hours (6pm to 11pm, earlier closing on Sunday nights) with a few hours of sports on Saturdays. On a technical level, the SABC claimed to have the highest standards, but not at programming level. The service was also touted as a propaganda vehicle for the then-ruling [[National Party (South Africa)|National Party]].<ref>{{cite news|title=The black and white TV show|url=https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/newnation19780108-1.2.53|access-date=6 February 2024|newspaper=New Nation|date=8 January 1978}}</ref>

By 1979, the broadcasts were picked up by 80% of the white population and 42% of the black population.<ref name="UPretoria"/>

On 1 January 1982, two television channels were introduced: TV2 broadcasting in [[Zulu language|Zulu]] and [[Xhosa language|Xhosa]] and TV3 broadcasting in [[Sotho language|Sotho]] and [[Tswana language|Tswana]], both targeted at a Black urban audience and broadcasting on the same television frequency.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rJ-uCwAAQBAJ&dq=TV2+broadcasting+in+Zulu+and+Xhosa+and+TV3+broadcasting+in+Sotho+and+Tswana%2C&pg=PA222|title=The Press and Apartheid: Repression and Propaganda in South Africa|first1=William A.|last1= Hachten|first2= C. Anthony |last2=Giffard |publisher=Springer|year=1984|page=222|isbn=9781349076857}}</ref> The main network, now called TV1, divided its broadcasting languages evenly between English and Afrikaans, as before. In 1986, a new service called TV4 was introduced, carrying sports and entertainment programming, also timesharing with TV2 and TV3 on the same frequency, which stopped broadcasting at 9:30pm.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NcQZ1D366t8C&q=%22TV4%22++&pg=PA68|title=Communication and Democratic Reform in South Africa|first=Robert B. |last=Horwitz|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year= 2001|page=68|isbn=9781139428699}}</ref>

In 1991, TV2, TV3 and TV4 were merged into a new full-fledged network, CCV (Contemporary Community Values).<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RxB1AAAAMAAJ&q=%22contemporary+community+values%22+sabc|title=South Africa: Official Yearbook of the Republic of South Africa|publisher= Department of Information|year=1992|page=131|isbn=9780797025769}}</ref> A separate network was introduced, TopSport Surplus (TSS), with TopSport being the brand name for the SABC's sport coverage. However, it was replaced by NNTV (National Network TV), an educational non-commercial channel in 1994.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-NRDAQAAIAAJ&q=%22february+11%22++ |title=The voice, the vision: a sixty year history of the South African Broadcasting Corporation|first1= Malcolm |last1=Theunissen|first2= Victor |last2=Nikitin|first3= Melanie |last3=Pillay|publisher=Advent Graphics|year=1996|page=127|isbn=9780620207867}}</ref> 

An agreement was signed with [[Sky News]] on 21 September 1993, enabling TV1 to air the channel during off-air hours from 15 October that year, akin to sister channel CCV which already had a contract with [[CNN International]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Murdoch enters African market|url=https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/straitstimes19930923-1.2.52.5.2|access-date=21 July 2024|newspaper=The Straits Times|date=23 September 1993}}</ref> In 1994, with post-Apartheid democratisation, it was suggested that TV1 should broadcast entirely in English.<ref>"SABC changes slowly in the new South Africa", ''Africa Film & TV Magazine'', nº. 4, September 1994</ref> At this time, the channel's slogan was ''This one's for you!'' ({{lang|af|Dié een is vir jou!}} in Afrikaans). Ethnic mixing was now possible; its morning show ''Good Morning South Africa'' now had a whiteman and a black woman side by side, impossible in Apartheid days.<ref>{{cite news |last1=McLairn |first1=Kimberly J. |title=The Voice of Apartheid Goes Multicultural |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/07/25/world/the-voice-of-apartheid-goes-multicultural.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=25 July 1995 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150526145831/https://www.nytimes.com/1995/07/25/world/the-voice-of-apartheid-goes-multicultural.html |archive-date=26 May 2015}}</ref>

In 1996, the SABC reorganised its three TV networks with the aim of making them more representative of the various language groups.<ref name="123SABC">"1, 2, 3, SABC!", ''Africa Film & TV Magazine'', nº. 9, April-June 1996</ref> These were renamed to SABC 3 (formerly TV1), SABC 1 (formerly CCV) and SABC 2 (formerly NNTV). The amount of time allocated to Afrikaans-language programming on the new channel (SABC 2) fell from 50% to 15% - a move that alienated Afrikaans speakers. A spokesman for the SABC said that such a reduction was "inevitable in the post apartheid era", and that the SABC had not abided to the IBA's recommendations.<ref name="123SABC"/>

Under the new format, 40% of SABC 2's schedule was in English, with the remaining 60% given to the other languages.<ref name="123SABC"/> The new service catered at Afrikaans and Sotho speakers during prime time, all-day language breakdown was as of the time of the change: 41% English, 15% Afrikaans, 8% Sepedi, 6% Sesotho, 8% Setswana and 1% each for Xitsonga and Tshivenda. 21% of its programming was multilingual.<ref name="123SABC"/>

With the commercialisation of the SABC in July 1997, the channel decided to drop its loss-making breakfast show ''Good Morning South Africa'' that it had inherited from the Apartheid-era TV1.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Haffajee |first1=Ferial |title=SABC's radical changes |url=https://mg.co.za/article/1997-06-20-sabcs-radical-changes/ |work=[[Mail & Guardian]] |date=20 June 1997}}</ref> In late 1997, the SABC announced that the channel would house more public service programming. On 1 December that year, SABC 2 adopted a new look.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Smith |first1=Janet |title=New-look Simunye channel |url=https://mg.co.za/article/1997-12-05-new-look-simunye-channel/ |work=[[Mail & Guardian]] |date=5 December 1997}}</ref>

For 2002, the channel was committed to be "the voice, the heart and the mind of South Africans", owing to its broadcast footprint - the largest out of any SABC terrestrial network. Aiming at increasing its audiences in the Black and Afrikaans sectors, the channel sought to increase its local offering, reflecting individual South African cultures and communities. Three new projects were being developed, The Res, Dark City and Zero Tolerance. [[7de Laan]] increased its number of weekly episodes to four, while [[Muvhango]] was planned to enter its third season in April that year.<ref>"SABC 2 - plans for 2002", ''Africa Film & TV Magazine'', nº. 32, February-April 2002</ref>