The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) will not clarify its digital terrestrial television strategy and why migration will result in a R836 million cash flow shortfall.

SA is set to turn on digital broadcast in the third quarter of this year after an April launch was postponed earlier this year by recently-appointed communications minister Dina Pule" rel=tag>Dina Pule.

Pule indicated that set-top box manufacturers had indicated they would not be ready by April to provide the decoders that about 10 million households would need to receive the new signal.

The old-fashioned analogue broadcast is set to be turned off towards the end of 2013, about 18 months before the International Telecommunications Union stops protecting the signal.

However, the public broadcaster has yet to provide clarity on its digital migration strategy, indicating only that the project is “delayed”.

At the end of February, the public broadcaster said digital migration would lead to a R836 million shortfall. It said it may have to approach government for more funds, in addition to the R1 billion bailout it was granted in 2009.

However, during the Parliament Portfolio Committee on Communication meeting, no further details as to the plans the SABC had in place for migration were provided. Its presentation to the committee indicates its digital migration and multi-channel environment project is “delayed”.