Cape Town TV
Cape Town TV is a non-profit, community-owned television broadcaster serving Cape Town and South Africa via free-to-air DTT, satellite (DStv 263, FreeVision 331) and online streaming. Owned by 192+ NGO members, it produces 15 hours of weekly original programming and reaches roughly 1.5 million monthly viewers.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2006
- HeadquartersCape Town, South Africa
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
What Cape Town TV does
Cape Town TV is a non-profit, community-owned television broadcaster licensed by ICASA to serve the greater Cape Town metropolitan region and, since October 2022, audiences nationally via digital terrestrial (DTT) and FreeVision satellite. Founded in July 2006 by 182 civil society organisations and broadcasting since 1 September 2008, the station is owned and governed by 192+ member NGOs/CBOs through a board elected from civil society. It produces 15 hours of weekly original content across flagship in-house shows (Cape Town Daily news, EKSÊ youth edutainment, Home Grown music, City Living lifestyle, The Womxn Show on gender-based violence, plus a slate of community shows), with the remainder of the 24/7 schedule filled by acquired international content and independent-producer output commissioned under a co-production revenue-share model.
Cape Town TV firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Cape Town TV
- Legal name
- Cape Town TV
- Website
- https://capetowntv.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2006
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Cape Town TV is a non-profit, community-owned television broadcaster serving Cape Town and South Africa via free-to-air DTT, satellite (DStv 263, FreeVision 331) and online streaming. Owned by 192+ NGO members, it produces 15 hours of weekly original programming and reaches roughly 1.5 million monthly viewers.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Cape Town TV industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Community Television Broadcasting
- NAICS
- Television Broadcasting Stations (51612)
- SIC
- Television Broadcasting Stations (4833)
- akta.pro primary industry
- National Public Television Networks & Member Stations (PBS-style) (MPABADAA)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Independent Local TV Stations (MPABACAB)
Keywords
Where Cape Town TV is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Cape Town
- HQ country
- South Africa
- HQ region
- Africa
Offices1 record
Markets served
Cape Town TV business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain
Revenue model
- Membership Fees: NGOs and CBOs pay annual membership fees of R1,150 including VAT, granting them access to free advertising spots, production services discounts, and participation in programming strategy.
- Advertising Revenue: Sale of advertising airtime to enterprises, government, religious organisations, and NGOs. The channel reaches mid-to-high income demographics and offers sponsorship opportunities with brand exposure across programmes.
- Grants and Donations: Funding received from foundations and government agencies including Ford Foundation, Human Rights Foundation, Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, MDDA, MICT, and Open Society Foundation.
- Co-production Revenue Share: Revenue from co-productions where producers pay broadcast fees if they secure sponsorship. Revenue split is 70/30 in favour of Cape Town TV for co-productions.
- Airtime Sales: Sale of airtime to content providers including government, religious organisations, companies and NGOs in strict accordance with the channel's programme policy.
- Production Services: Professional production services including studio facilities, outside broadcast team, webinar hosting, and video production for events, sold to external clients.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | NGO/CBO Membership - Annual subscription |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Advertising Airtime |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels8 records
Cape Town TV product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Cape Town TV is a non-profit community television station that broadcasts 24/7 via free-to-air DTT, DStv Channel 263, FreeVision Channel 331, and online streaming through FreeVision Play. The station produces 15 hours per week of original programming and provides production services, advertising airtime, and a co-production programme enabling independent producers, NGOs, and community organisations to create and monetise content.
Product overview
Cape Town TV is a non-profit, community-based television station serving the greater Cape Town metropolitan area and national audiences. The station operates as a platform-plus-distribution model, offering core television broadcasting services (free-to-air DTT, DStv, FreeVision satellite, and streaming via FreeVision Play) alongside a portfolio of approximately 15 flagship in-house shows including news (Cape Town Daily), youth edutainment (EKSÊ), music (Home Grown), lifestyle (City Living), and social issue programmes (The Womxn Show, Worker's World). The station supplements its programming with acquired international content and independent producer shows. Beyond broadcasting, Cape Town TV provides production services (webinars, events, outside broadcasts), advertising opportunities, and community engagement programmes including a membership scheme for NGOs/CBOs and a Production Development Programme offering training and mentorship to emerging producers.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Free-to-Air TV Broadcasting 24/7 free-to-air community television broadcasting service distributed via analogue and Digital Terrestrial Transmission (DTT) in the Cape Town metro, DStv Channel 263 nationally, FreeVision Channel 331 satellite, and online streaming via FreeVision Play.
- Cape Town Daily
Quantifiable outcome
- 1.5 million average monthly viewers
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Cape Town TV
Customer profileNamed customers13 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Cape Town TV technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration10 records
Feature3 records
Cape Town TV partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- MultiChoicecoreProvides ongoing equipment upgrades to Cape Town TV's studios and FCC. Donated used equipment in 2017 to bolster the studio and control room. Installed inverter and solar panels for power security during load-shedding.
- AFDAminorFilm school that initially provided office space free-of-charge at their campus in Observatory. Allowed Cape Town TV to use its studio and equipment for recording programmes including Open Studio, Worker's World, and CTV News.
- Paramount (formerly Viacom)coreAppointed in 2020 to handle advertising agency sales. This increased Cape Town TV's advertising revenue and placed the station on a more secure financial footing.
- AdtopiaminorSales house that presents Cape Town TV's shows to ad agencies as part of the channel's sales support for independent producers.
- SentechcoreProvides signal distribution via FreeVision satellite platform and DTT transmission. Cape Town TV is available on FreeVision Channel 331 and via FreeVision Play streaming service.
- MediamarkminorJohannesburg-based advertising sales house partnership entered in September 2014. Advertising sales increased significantly during this period before Cape Town TV took over regional sales internally in 2018.
- FAME Week AfricaminorAnnual event celebrating Africa's creative industries. Cape Town TV participated as corporate social investment and media partner for two consecutive years, engaging with local producers and advocating for community television.
- Food DialoguesminorEvent that used Cape Town TV as media partner, generating significant media coverage that interrogated relationship to food and food system issues. Gained access to new audiences through Cape Town TV's editorial teams.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves9 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Cape Town TV competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Tshwane TV: Tshwane TV is a community television station serving the Pretoria/Tshwane region, also licensed under the ICASA community TV framework and operating with a comparable mix of local content production, advertising sales, and grant funding.
- 1KZN TV: 1KZN TV is a community television station licensed for KwaZulu-Natal, part of the same small cohort of ICASA-licensed community broadcasters as Cape Town TV, sharing regional free-to-air footprint, DStv carriage, and reliance on advertising plus MDDA/grant funding.
- Bay TV: Bay TV is a community television station in Nelson Mandela Bay (Port Elizabeth), one of the few licensed community TV stations in South Africa alongside Cape Town TV, sharing the ICASA community TV licence framework, multi-platform distribution via DStv, and grant/donation-dependent nonprofit model.
- Soweto TV: Soweto TV is a community television station licensed by ICASA serving the Soweto/Johannesburg area, directly comparable to Cape Town TV as a South African nonprofit community broadcaster with the same multi-platform distribution model, government and grant funding mix, and community-owned governance structure.
Broad incumbents
- eMedia (e.tv / eNCA): e.tv is South Africa's largest private free-to-air commercial broadcaster, with national reach and well-funded news operations. It competes with Cape Town TV for Cape Town-based advertising budgets and overlaps with Cape Town TV's news/lifestyle content categories.
- MultiChoice: MultiChoice is Africa's largest pay-TV operator (DStv) and a strategic partner to Cape Town TV, providing satellite carriage, equipment upgrades, and solar installations. While not a direct competitor on community content, MultiChoice's broader channel portfolio competes for advertising spend and viewer attention.
- SABC: SABC is South Africa's national public broadcaster, operating multiple free-to-air television channels with national reach. While much larger and not community-owned, SABC competes with Cape Town TV for advertising budgets and audience attention, particularly for local Cape Town news and lifestyle programming.
Others
- Al Jazeera English: Al Jazeera English is acquired international content carried on Cape Town TV and represents a content partner and adjacent global public-interest broadcaster. Comparable in mission-driven journalism focus but vastly larger in scale and geographic reach.
Emerging players
- Free Speech TV: Free Speech TV is a US-based nonprofit, independent television network offering progressive and community perspectives. Comparable to Cape Town TV in being nonprofit, mission-driven, and reliant on member/donor support and grassroots content partnerships.
- Link TV: Link TV is a US-based independent nonprofit television network focused on global and independent perspectives. It shares Cape Town TV's nonprofit, mission-driven model and reliance on grants/donations, providing a useful international benchmark for community-driven TV operations.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Cape Town TV social profiles
Digital presenceCape Town TV financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Cape Town TV leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles8 records
Cape Town TV funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Cape Town TV M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Cape Town TV
What does Cape Town TV do?
Cape Town TV is a non-profit community television station that broadcasts 24/7 via free-to-air DTT, DStv Channel 263, FreeVision Channel 331, and online streaming through FreeVision Play. The station produces 15 hours per week of original programming and provides production services, advertising airtime, and a co-production programme enabling independent producers, NGOs, and community organisations to create and monetise content.
Is Cape Town TV a public or private company?
Cape Town TV is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Cape Town TV founded?
Cape Town TV was founded in 2006. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Cape Town TV based?
Cape Town TV is headquartered in Cape Town, South Africa, in the Africa region.
How does Cape Town TV make money?
Six revenue lines are on record. Membership Fees are the primary driver. The others are advertising Revenue, grants and Donations, co-production Revenue Share, airtime Sales and production Services.
Who are Cape Town TV's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Tshwane TV, 1KZN TV, Bay TV and Soweto TV. Broad incumbents are eMedia (e.tv / eNCA), MultiChoice and SABC. Al Jazeera English is listed as an others. Emerging players are Free Speech TV and Link TV.
Does Cape Town TV have an API?
No public API is recorded for Cape Town TV.
What industry is Cape Town TV in?
Cape Town TV's product category is Community Television Broadcasting. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPABADAA, National Public Television Networks & Member Stations (PBS-style), with a secondary code of MPABACAB, Independent Local TV Stations. Its NAICS code is 51612 and its SIC code is 4833.