One of the oddities about apartheid South Africa was that television was introduced rather late, 1976. This wasn't because of the expense but because the government viewed modern culture with suspicion with Prime Minister  Verwoerd comparing TV to atomic weapons saying:  "they are modern things, but that does not mean they are desirable. The government has to watch for any dangers to the people, both spiritual and physical." There were also fears that television would be a threat to Afrikaner (white Dutch-descended) dominance because of the prominance of English television internationally, as well as white dominance, with the communications minister arguing "South Africa would have to import films showing race mixing; and advertising would make [Black] Africans dissatisfied with their lot."

As a result, radio remained the dominant medium in South Africa into the late 1970s with a format similar to what pre-television radio had been in the rest of the western world, except more modern, in some ways with the SABC's commercial radio arm, Sprinbok Radio, producing (often illegally) South African radio versions of popular western (mostly British) television series such as The Avengers as well as original drama series, comedies, game shows and the like. 

You can hear a sampling of Springbok programming here: 

Last edited by Hansa (December 4, 2023 11:26 am)