MHLANTLA J transmit electronic communications and broadcasting. However, analogue technologies are only able to receive and communicate analogue signals, while digital technologies receive and communicate only digital signals. As a result, analogue television sets are unable to display information as received from digital frequencies without a device capable of converting digital transmissions to analogue transmissions. While the country migrates from analogue to digital frequencies, there is a “dual illumination” period. During this time, both analogue and digital transmissions are used; and continue until such a time when the analogue transmission is completely switched off, and the digital transmission is completely switched on.1 [3] On 4 April 2022, two urgent applications for leave to appeal directly to this Court against a judgment and order of the High Court of South Africa, Gauteng Division, Pretoria (High Court) were lodged.2 As both concerned the same subject matter, they were consolidated and heard together. The applications concern the applicants’ dissatisfaction with an order of the High Court that permits the Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies (Minister) to complete the digital migration process – moving from analogue to digital broadcasting – on 30 June 2022. The analogue switch-off was initially scheduled by the Minister for 31 March 2022, but that date was changed by the order of the High Court to 30 June 2022. [4] The applicant in the first matter, under case number CCT 89/22, is e.tv (Pty) Limited (e.tv), South Africa’s biggest independent free-to-air television broadcaster and the only non-state broadcaster of free-to-air television news in South Africa. The applicants in the second matter, under case number CCT 92/22, are two non-profit organisations, Media Monitoring Africa (MMA) and SOS Support Public Broadcasting (SOS). In the High Court, MMA and SOS were granted leave to intervene as 1 It should be noted that, to date, the provinces of Free State, Northern Cape, North West, Mpumalanga and Limpopo have migrated from analogue to digital transmission. Thus, this dispute is centred around the digital migration of the remaining four provinces, namely, KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape, Western Cape and Gauteng. 2 e.tv (Pty) Ltd v Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies, unreported judgment of the High Court of South Africa, Gauteng Division, Pretoria, Case No 51159/2021 (28 March 2022) (High Court judgment). 5