SABC will show Proteas games at Cricket World Cup

In an unsurprising about-turn, MultiChoice and the SABC have reached an agreement that will allow the public broadcaster to show the Proteas’ matches at the 2023 Cricket World Cup. 

In a statement released on Thursday afternoon, the SABC said it and the satellite broadcaster had agreed on the sub-licencing rights for the tournament and all South Africa’s games, along with the semifinal and final, would be shown on SABC3. 

Importantly, one of the major sticking points regarding the SABC broadcasting matches on their streaming platforms has been allowed. Thus, matches will be shown on sabcsport.com and SABC Plus.

Somewhat cheekily, the SABC states that “regrettably” its agreement with MultiChoice, didn’t include the rights to show the matches on the Open View platform, which is owned by eMedia. 

“The SABC has formally lodged a complaint with the Competition Commission about MultiChoice’s behaviour,” the organisation said in its statement. 

“To mitigate the blackout of the cricket on [OpenView] the SABC has approached eMedia to jointly acquire the Cricket World Cup rights from MultiChoice to ensure all [OpenView] customers are able to view these games. Unfortunately, eMedia has not agreed to this.” 

The agreement will come as relief to millions of South Africans who risked missing out on watching the men’s national team at the World Cup. On Tuesday MultiChoice said it had offered the rights to show the tournament to the SABC “on significantly reduced commercial terms”.

The World Cup started on Thursday. The Proteas play their first match against Sri Lanka in Delhi on Saturday, at 10.30am.

The SABC and MultiChoice had also been locked in protracted negotiations over the Rugby World Cup, until late intervention from the department of sport and the acquisition of three sponsors, who paid more than R50m, allowed the public broadcaster to show a limited portion of the event.