A bill passed in early November is to transform the South African Broadcasting Corp. (SABC) into a limited liability company, with the state as the sole shareholder, according to a BBC report.

The measure marks another phase in the deregulation of post-apartheid broadcasting with the new SABC charter closely modeled on the BBC's charter. The bill, part of continuing deregulation of SABC, will repeal the Broadcasting Act of 1976 and will divide the company into two services, public and commercial.

Since it was set up in 1994, shortly before the first post-apartheid national elections, the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) has coordinated the sale of six SABC stations to commercial operators and granted licences to eight new radio stations and a new commercial station. According to the BBC it has also licensed 82 community stations, of which 74 are on air. The bill also gives IBA the power to regulate the broadcasting sector without fear of interference.

South African groups that advocate free speech, such as the Freedom of Expression Institute (FXI), welcomed the comprehensive review of broadcasting policy that the bill represents. But FXI contends that the core of the SABC's future funding should come from the state, rather than from commercial operations to ensure that public broadcasting does not wither away.