South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation (SSBC) is the national public service broadcaster of South Sudan, operating a television channel and multiple radio stations across the country. While envisioned as an independent and public-interest media outlet, SSBC continues to face structural and political constraints that limit its editorial autonomy.
Media assets
Television: SSBC TV
Radio: South Sudan Radio
State Media Matrix Typology
Ownership and governance
SSBC was established under the Broadcasting Corporation Act of 2013 as a public institution mandated to serve the South Sudanese public and accountable to the Transitional National Legislative Assembly. Governance of the broadcaster lies in the hands of a nine-member Board of Directors, appointed by the President with parliamentary approval. The law includes a provision mandating that at least 25% of board members be women, aiming to promote gender inclusivity. However, no publicly available evidence confirms the consistent enforcement of this quota.
In practice, the governance structure remains heavily centralized and politically influenced, with key leadership positions filled through executive appointment rather than independent selection processes.
Source of funding and budget
According to the Broadcasting Corporation Act, SSBC was to be fully state-funded until 2019, after which it would gradually diversify its revenue streams through a mix of public media license fees, state subsidies, commercial advertising, sponsorships, and donor contributions. Despite this provision, the broadcaster remains overwhelmingly reliant on government financing.
The most recent publicly available data—covering the 2019–2020 fiscal year—indicated that SSBC received a government allocation of SSP 74 million (approximately US$ 570,000), covering the bulk of its operating costs. Since then, updated figures have not been disclosed. Additional financial and technical support has occasionally been secured from foreign development partners, notably the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Chinese government, which have contributed to equipment upgrades and infrastructure modernization.
Editorial independence
Despite official commitments to nurture SSBC as a politically independent public broadcaster, its editorial line remains closely aligned with government narratives. The legal provision in the Broadcasting Corporation Act calling for editorial operations to be “independent from political or economic control by the government” is routinely ignored in practice.
Editorial decisions are widely perceived to be influenced—if not dictated—by political authorities, primarily due to the government’s direct role in appointing (and dismissing) SSBC’s leadership. This has enabled undue political leverage over the broadcaster’s agenda, coverage, and institutional direction.
To date, no external or independent regulatory mechanism exists to assess or safeguard SSBC’s editorial independence. The absence of such oversight has left the broadcaster vulnerable to politicization and has undercut its mandate as a genuine public service media provider.
June 2025