50 years of television in South Africa reveals a transformation from a government-controlled propaganda outlet to a platform for diverse voices and democratic expression.

How does a medium once branded "the devil's own box" become the fireplace around which a nation tries to rekindle its broken identity?

This question lies at the heart of our recently published book that marks 50 years since the flicker of the first official TV broadcast in South Africa in 1976. The volume takes stock of television's journey from a tool of state propaganda to a contested site of democratic expression.

Today, this fireplace has expanded beyond the state-owned public broadcaster to incorporate private TV channels and platforms. It has evolved into the digital frontier of streaming services like Netflix, SABC+ and the now defunct Showmax.

These have begun to globalise local stories. At the same time, they raise new questions about who truly owns and has access to the South African story in an on-demand age.

A radical shift

TV in South Africa has always been more than just a source of entertainment. It's a powerful symbol of the society it reflects: unsettled (1976-1992), in transition (1992-2010), and deeply complex (2010-present), as one scholar has argued.

With democracy in 1994, the country's broadcasting landscape underwent a radical shift. A state-controlled monopoly evolved into a...