Proteas players celebrate a wicket The Proteas World Cup matches could be broadcast on SABC. Photo: Siphiwe Sibeko/Reuters
South African cricket fans may be able to watch the Proteas at the Cricket World Cup on free-to-air television.
The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) says they have made an offer to Multichoice to air the tournament which gets under way on October 5 in India. SuperSport has all the rights to broadcast the tournament in South Africa.
The short statement from the public broadcaster said “the SABC has made an offer to MultiChoice (DSTV) for the sub-licensing for the Cricket World Cup 2023 and awaits their response”.
“This move seeks to enhance access to premier cricket content for the masses and reaffirms the commitment to providing the best in sports entertainment to citizens, regardless of their geographic location or economic status.”
This bid comes after a back and fourth with the SABC and Multichoice ahead of current Rugby World Cup. The two parties, at first were unable to come to agreement over the broadcasting of the tournament which would have seen millions of South Africans not able to watch Siya Kolisi and his Springboks defend their title in France.
SABC COO Sol Plaatjie also accused Multichoice of bullying tactics as they had to pay the broadcasting company an amount of R38 million for the broadcast rights to show all the Bok games at the World Cup.
The issue was resolved just a day before the tournament began.
Sports minister Zizi Kodwa who was also part of the process, said at the time that a permanent solutions need to be found.
“I had made it clear that my interest with the Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies, and met with senior executives of the SABC, urging the public broadcaster to find a solution to this impasse with MultiChoice.
“I reiterate my call for a permanent solution to be found, as we cannot find ourselves in this situation before major sporting events”, said Kodwa.
The Proteas take on Sri Lanka in their opening match of the World Cup on the October 5.
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