SABC won’t broadcast India tour to South Africa

Due to a lack of agreement between Cricket South Africa and the SABC on broadcasting rights, millions of cricket fans across the country will not be able to watch the Proteas take on India.

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SABC won’t broadcast India tour

The two parties had come to an agreement about the broadcasting rights of the tour, according to a statement issued by Cricket South Africa on Friday afternoon. However, the SABC withdrew at the last minute due to the withdrawal of prospective sponsors.

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Due to a breakdown in their discussions with SuperSport, the rights holder, the national broadcaster declared earlier this year that they would not be able to broadcast both the Rugby and Cricket World Cups.

The SABC was ultimately successful in obtaining permission for the two tournaments after some government involvement and with the support of sponsors.

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CSA Statement

A CSA statement reads: “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.

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“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.”