Veteran broadcaster David Mashabela is transitioning his well-known podcast, The King David, to national television, creating a noteworthy development for podcasting in South Africa as it is set to premiere on SABC2.
This shift marks the podcast’s transition from an online-only format to public broadcasting, positioning it within a select group of local podcasts that have successfully made the jump to mainstream television.
For Mashabela, the goal is not recognition but rather expanding the audience.
“YouTube reaches about four million people in South Africa, while the SABC reaches over 20 million,” Mashabela stated in an interview with Sunday World.
“This transition allows stories that were once only available to those with internet access to be shared widely, reaching everyone, including everyday families.”
The King David podcast is known for its candid and honest discussions, cultivating a dedicated audience by providing South African public figures an opportunity to talk freely about their experiences, careers, and personal struggles, often in ways that are seldom featured on mainstream media.
Mashabela remarked that the podcast originated from his dissatisfaction with the way South Africa records its history.
“We don’t have a comprehensive library of South African narratives,” he noted. “If you wish to grasp the full story of some of our most prominent figures, there’s nowhere to refer to.”
This concern became even more prominent during his participation in a government initiative focused on preserving the history of nursing in South Africa.
“The archive ended in 1994. That’s when I realized that if we don’t document our own histories, others will do it for us, and their perspectives may not align with ours,” he explained.
