SABC joins the world in celebrating the power of radio

The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has joined the rest of the world in observing World Radio Day, which has been celebrated annually since February 2012.

Radio has been in existence for over 110 years.

Despite the rise of new media, radio remains one of the most powerful and most consumed broadcast mediums.

World Radio Day is an international day celebrated on 13 February each year. pic.twitter.com/vaQPJkSBPm

— Vina (@alfavina) February 13, 2021

Millions of people across the country, including those living in rural areas rely on national radio for their information and entertainment.

SABC Spokesperson, Mmoni Seapolelo, says, “The SABC celebrates the collective power of its 19 radio stations that reach 30 million South Africans each week across all corners of the country. SABC radio continues to play an important role in educating, informing and entertaining audiences in more than 11 official indigenous languages. It also broadcasts to other African countries in languages including French and Portuguese.”

Happy World Radio Day.#WorldRadioDay2021 pic.twitter.com/GkllcV8zaR

— SABC (@SABCPortal) February 13, 2021

Some people in Limpopo say World Radio Day is not receiving enough recognition despite radio being the medium that is accessible to most people – especially in rural areas.

“Today is World Radio Day is very important to me….to me is very important maybe if you don’t have a TV or you don’t have other means of communication or you can’t read at least you can listen from the radio,” says one radio listener.

“It is not taken serious this day because people are not aware of it. Myself I think radio is more efficient to everyone even the people that are down down in the deep rural they can also hear what is happening in the world. I’m grateful for the radio.. people don’t know much about the World Radio Day,” adds another.