SABC Sport announces ground breaking NBA TV broadcast deal!

The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) have announced a ground breaking television broadcast rights agreement with the National Basketball Association (NBA). 

SABC announced the deal with the NBA in collaboration with their sporting division. 

SABC will broadcast both live and delayed games

As part of the multiyear signed agreement, SABC Sport will will air more than 35 games throughout the season, including a Christmas Day game, NBA All-Star Saturday Night, Conference Finals and The Finals, broadcast live or delayed, on SABC 1 and the SABC Sports Channel on the DTT, TelkomOne and Openview platforms.

Programming

The SABC will also supplement this viewing with a weekly magazine show called “NBA Action”, which will aim to keep the audience engaged and give them more knowledge on the game through covering the league’s news and highlights.

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The first live action will feature a pre-game live studio presentation at 22:30 on Saturday, 30 October at 23:00 SAST, followed by the big one! the inaugural live broadcast of the 75th Anniversary Season, where the Washington Wizards will host the Boston Celtics. Due to the time difference between South Africa and the United States, the live or delayed broadcasts will start between 20h00 and midnight on the same Saturday on SABC 1 and the Sports Channel.

Comment from SABC

“SABC Sport is incredibly thrilled to add one of the world’s most exciting and respected leagues to its live sports offering, as we know that there is a sports audience which loves the game of basketball in Mzansi,” said Gary Rathbone, general manager of SABC Sport.

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“In bringing this great global sporting spectacle to our viewers, the SABC will also be setting out to inspire and entertain a whole new generation of basketball fans all over the country,” he added.

Comment from the NBA

“We are thrilled to once again partner with SABC, beginning with our milestone 75th Anniversary Season,” said Victor Williams, NBA Africa CEO

“Through this partnership, we look forward to bringing the excitement of the NBA to more of our passionate fans in South Africa as part of our continued commitment of making basketball more accessible across the continent.” Concluded Williams