Millions of South Africans without pay TV will not be able to watch the Springboks bid to defend their Rugby World Cup title on the SABC if the public broadcaster is unable to obtain the rights to show the games from MultiChoice.
The tournament gets under way on Friday night when hosts France face off against New Zealand’s All Blacks at Stade de France. Siya Kolisi’s reigning champions will open their campaign on Sunday against Scotland at Stade de Marseille.
The two broadcasting houses are in a standoff and have not been able to reach a deal. The Sunday Times has established from three highly placed insiders with intimate knowledge of the behind-the-scenes developments that the SABC wants rights to flight all the Springboks matches, including the semifinals and final.
MultiChoice wants the SABC to pay $2m (about R38m).
SuperSport spokesperson Clinton van der Berg declined to discuss the standoff.
“As per protocol we don’t divulge the nature of discussions around rights,” he said.
An initial offer by the SABC to broadcast the event was rebutted.
“They came back to the negotiating table with a revised offer which still does not meet the required value,” said one insider.
An urgent SABC board meeting will convene on Tuesday to discuss the matter.
“There is a stalemate as far as the money is concerned. MultiChoice is demanding $2m. It does not look they are going to change. It’s an old strategy. We approach them ahead of time. They wait until the last minute to start negotiations,” said one insider.
“The SABC doesn’t have that kind of money. Even if we had the $2m, how are we going to recoup it in such a short period? We won’t get a cent out of it because between now and next weekend you can’t get anyone to advertise,” said another.
In response to the Sunday Times, Mmoni Seapolelo, SABC acting group executive for corporate affairs and marketing, said: “The SABC is in the final stages of the negotiation process with MultiChoice and once the negotiations are concluded we will communicate accordingly.”
The SABC is also not broadcasting the Australian cricket tour of South Africa which started with T20s in Durban on Wednesday and Friday with the third taking place today.
It remains unclear whether the financially strapped broadcaster will show the Cricket World Cup which commences in India on October 5.
“We got R50m from the SABC in 2019 for all formats of Proteas matches. The figure has been going down since and they have not started the negotiation for the Cricket World Cup,” said a source.
Last week the Sunday Times reported the SABC is in negotiation with the South African Football Association for its current contract is in its third and final year and will run its course on October 31.
If the two bodies do not renew the contract, it will place the broadcast of Bafana Bafana's 2026 World Cup qualifiers which start in November in jeopardy of a TV blackout.
This week, at the announcement of the Bafana Bafana squad for the upcoming friendly matches against Namibia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, Keletso Totlhanyo, SABC sport group executive, said the games, which will be played at Orlando Stadium on September 9 and 12, will be broadcast.
“Matches will be live on SABC. We are in constant contact with Safa from the beginning of this year. We have a meeting with Safa in the coming weeks to finalise things,” she said.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.