The human value of free entertainment

Entertainment is part of how people spend time together at home. Watching a series after supper or choosing a film for the weekend gives a family an activity to share without organising an outing or paying for individual tickets. A programme also gives people something to talk about: a character’s decisions, a situation they recognise or an ending they disagree on. These conversations can carry on long after the television is switched off.

For someone watching on their own, a favourite programme can mark a break between the day’s responsibilities and time they have to themselves. Following a story or watching a comedy gives them something enjoyable to focus on, with no task to complete or problem to solve. Everyone deserves access to entertainment they find worthwhile, regardless of what they can afford to spend on it.

The Broadcast Research Council’s TVM Establishment Survey 2026 found that 61% of eMedia’s past-week viewers aged 15 and over reported watching at home mostly with others or equally alone and with others. The finding shows how often viewing is shared. When several people watch together, a programme becomes part of their time with one another, as well as something each person enjoys.

In South Africa, language is an important part of that experience. Hearing the expressions used at home, recognising a family dynamic or seeing a familiar setting can make a story feel close. Audiences bring different histories, tastes and ways of living to the screen, and programming needs to take that variety seriously. There should also be room for discovery: a story from another country, an unfamiliar perspective, a genre someone has never tried. People should have the freedom to find both the familiar and the unexpected.

The connection can extend beyond the household. A storyline becomes a conversation at work, between neighbours or in a family WhatsApp group. Viewers bring their own experiences to it, disagree about what should happen next and sometimes come to understand one another a little better. Being able to follow the story gives people a way into that exchange. Entertainment helps create shared references through which people participate in everyday cultural life.

A free television service removes the need for a monthly subscription payment. For a household, this means one fewer recurring expense to consider when deciding what to watch. It gives people more freedom to decide where to spend their money while keeping an entertainment option available at home. Supporting that choice is a practical way for the industry to make its programmes available to a wider public.

That responsibility extends to the programmes themselves. Broadcasters need to invest in work people want to watch, understand how preferences change and make space for different generations and communities. Quality, variety and relevance all matter. Listening to audiences should guide decisions about what to commission, acquire and schedule: which programmes people return to, what they feel is missing and which stories they want to see told.

Openview provides one way to put this into practice. Once the decoder and any necessary dish or installation are paid for, there is no monthly subscription fee for its satellite service. Its channel line-up includes e.tv, eExtra and eMovies, with local and international entertainment available on the same platform. The value to a household comes from having that choice available whenever its members sit down to watch.

Everyone should have the opportunity to enjoy a good programme, whether they watch alone or share it with others. For South Africa’s entertainment industry, keeping that opportunity open requires continued attention to affordability and to the quality of what is on screen. Free television has an important role in making both part of everyday life.