Johannesburg- Sunday 01 August 2021 – Today, the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) celebrates its 85th year in broadcasting. In celebrating this historic milestone as a public service broadcaster, the SABC will host key stakeholders on Monday, 02 August 2021, to be broadcast on SABC 2 and the SABC News Channel at 19:00. SABC radio station METRO FM will also carry the proceedings live, whilst RSG will carry live interviews from the event. Since its establishment in 1936, the SABC has served South Africans as the primary news and information provider through its radio and television channels. The public broadcaster, which currently boasts nineteen (19) radio stations and six (6) television channels, has aggressively expanded its platforms, to include digital platforms, and this reflects the changing consumption patterns of its audiences. Mr. Madoda Mxakwe, the SABC’s Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) stated “as the corporation celebrates its 85th birthday - a key milestone for an organisation that dutifully serves citizen by providing content that is educational, informative and entertaining in all our official languages - over the coming months, the SABC will embark on campaigns and projects that will further improve the lives of citizens as it fulfils its mandate”. Mxakwe further commented “as we forge ahead, we will ensure that the SABC continues playing its critical role of promoting nation-building and social cohesion by acquiring and scheduling content that reflects South African stories on our radio, television and digital platforms”. “Let us join together South Africa, as we celebrate a lifetime of memories and we as the management and staff of the public broadcaster, wish it another long 85 years of broadcasting” concluded Mxakwe. #SABC85 END Issued By: Group Communications Media Enquiries: Ms. Gugu Ntuli (Group Executive: Corporate Affairs and Marketing) NtuliGM@sabc.co.za|T. 011 714 3311|C. 071 877 0513