History[edit]
SABC's decision in December 1945 to develop a commercial service was constrained by post-war financial issues.[1]: 726 After almost five years of investigation and after consulting Lord Reith of the BBC and the South African government, it decided to introduce commercial radio to supplement the SABC's public service English and Afrikaans networks and help solve the SABC's financial problems.[1]: 727 The SABC would build the equipment and facilities and would place them at the disposal of advertisers and their agencies at cost for productions and allow them to make use of SABC's production staff.
On 1 May 1950, the first commercial radio station in South Africa, Springbok Radio, took to the air.[1]: 728 [2] Bilingual in English and Afrikaans, it broadcast from the Johannesburg Centre for 113 and a half hours a week.[3] The service proved so popular with advertisers at its launch that commercial time had been booked well in advance.[4] The service started at 6:43am with the music Vat Jou Goed en Trek, Ferreira.[1]: 728 The first voice on air was that of Eric Egan, well remembered for his daily "Corny Crack"[5] and catch phrase "I Love You".[6]
Many drama programmes during the 1950s were imported from Australia, but as more funding became available, Springbok Radio produced almost all its programmes within South Africa through a network of independent production houses. By the end of 1950, some 30 per cent of Springbok Radio shows were produced by South African talent or material and independent productions were sold to sponsors.[1]: 728 At the same time all air time had been sold or used and transmission time was extended.[1]: 728 By the end of the 1950s, the revenue of Springbok Radio was £205,439, in 1961 it had grown to over two million rand (£1 million) and by 1970 had reached R 6.5 million.[1]: 728
By 1985, Springbok Radio was operating at a heavy loss.[7] Stiff competition from television, despite the late arrival of the medium in 1976, saw Springbok Radio's urban listenership sharply decline and it lost all listeners in rural areas with the handing over of its shortwave frequencies to Radio 5. Springbok Radio ceased broadcasting on 31 December 1985.[8]
Springbok Radio Preservation Society of South Africa[edit]
Based in Johannesburg, South Africa, this was a non-profit organisation which had collected and archived all sorts of material including sound recordings and photographs related to Springbok Radio. It housed the biggest sound recording archive of the station in the world and was an internationally recognised sound archive. The Society was formed in 2002 by Frans Erasmus in Johannesburg. The archive held many original recordings on tape, reel to reel and transcription discs and also has many private off-air recordings of the station. The society was engaged in a restoration project, transferring the analogue recordings to a digital format. On 1 July 2008, this Society launched Springbok Radio Digital, a service where many of the restored programmes can be heard.
On 8 May 2012, the archives of the Society was handed over to the SABC Sound Archive.[10]
The Springbok Radio Preservation Society website currently broadcasts an eight-hour weekday programme[11] (Monday 06:00 to Friday 06:00) and a weekend programme (Friday 06:00 to Monday 06:00). The programming is distinct from that of the SABC's Springbok Radio Digital listed below.
Springbok Radio Digital / Springbokradio Digitaal[edit]
This is a creation of the Springbok Radio Preservation Society of South Africa with assistance from the SABC, in which certain of the Society's restored programmes are streamed. The service started operating on 1 October 2008 and operates a 12-hour service from Mondays to Sundays, repeated four times. The service concentrates on presenting a selection of old time Springbok Radio programming restored and preserved at the Springbok Radio Preservation Society Archive.
Springbok Radio Digital was officially handed over to the SABC Sound Archive on 8 May 2012.