SABC Not To Broadcast India Tour Of South Africa 2023-24 Matches, Confirms CSA
Published - 09 Dec 2023, 03:54 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:23 AM
The Indian cricket team is scheduled to play a multi-format tour against the South African team, starting on December 10. However, the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) will not be broadcasting the series, leaving millions of cricket fans disappointed.
Millions of cricket fans in South Africa will miss out on watching the matches on SABC due to the failure of Cricket South Africa and SABC to reach an agreement on broadcasting rights once again. Notably, the matches will be telecast on the Star Sports Network in India.
Earlier, the national broadcaster announced its failure to acquire broadcasting rights for both the rugby and cricket World Cups. Following the intervention of the South African government, SABC eventually secured the rights to broadcast the two tournaments.
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Here’s Cricket South Africa’s Full Statement:
Cricket South Africa (CSA) expressed regret as negotiations with SABC failed, leading to an inability to broadcast the 2023/24 India Tour on free-to-air television. CSA expressed its willingness to finalize an agreement if SABC secures sponsorship for the India tour.
“Cricket South Africa regrets to announce that it is unable to strike a deal with the SABC to broadcast the 2023/24 India Tour to South Africa on free-to-air television.
For the past few months CSA and the SABC have been involved in protracted negotiations on the free-to-air broadcast rights of the India tour, which are exclusively owned by CSA for the purpose of ensuring that cricket is accessible to the larger South African population.
On 29 November, CSA finally received an offer from the SABC for the broadcast rights at a massively discounted rate.
In view of the significant audience the SABC enjoys, which meets CSA’s aim of growing cricket across all sectors of South African society, CSA was eager to ensure that the India tour was available on free-to-air TV.
CSA responded to the SABC six working days later on 7 December, accepting their offer in totality.
Regrettably, hours after CSA’s full acceptance of their offer, the SABC informed CSA that they are unable to broadcast the India tour due to a withdrawal of potential sponsors.
The free-to-air rights remain available and should the SABC be able to attract sponsorship, CSA is willing to conclude an agreement which will ensure the India tour is enjoyed by millions of South Africans.”
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