DStv and SABC have reached an agreement to broadcast 16 live Rugby World Cup matches.
DStv and SABC Reach Agreement for Broadcasting 16 Live Matches of Rugby World Cup
Hanno Labuschagne 7th September 2023
DStv and SABC have struck a deal enabling the broadcasting of 16 live matches from the Rugby World Cup 2023 (RWC 2023), including all matches involving the Springboks or potential Springbok matches.
In a statement released on Thursday, MultiChoice, the owner of DStv and the exclusive rights holder for broadcasting and streaming RWC 2023 in South Africa, confirmed the agreement with the public broadcaster just one day before the latest edition of the rugby spectacle begins in France.
MultiChoice stated, “Following SABC’s acceptance of a proposal made by MultiChoice on 18th August 2023, an agreement in principle has been reached to sub-license broadcast rights to the SABC for Rugby World Cup 2023. The SABC may broadcast a total of 16 matches, including the opening ceremony and match, all Springbok matches, two quarter-finals, one semi-final, the bronze final, the final, and the closing ceremony. Should the Springboks not advance to the knockout stages, these matches will still be available for broadcast.”
Marc Jury, CEO of MultiChoice South Africa, expressed satisfaction at reaching this agreement “in the spirit of cooperation.”
The scheduling of the matches will be at the discretion of the SABC, which now has access to live broadcast feeds for all the matches. The confirmed matches available to the SABC, along with their kick-off dates and times, are as follows:
- France vs New Zealand — 21:15 on Friday, 8th September 2023
- SA vs Scotland — 17:45 on Sunday, 10th September 2023
- SA vs Romania — 15:00 on Sunday, 17th September 2023
- SA vs Ireland — 21:00 on Saturday, 23rd September 2023
- SA vs Tonga — 21:00 on Sunday, 1st October 2023
- Two quarter-finals — To Be Announced (possible dates 14th and 15th October 2023)
- One semi-final — To Be Announced (possible dates 20th and 21st October 2023)
- Third-place playoff (Bronze final) — 21:00 on Friday, 27th October 2023
- Final — 21:00 on Saturday, 28th October 2023
The specifics of the agreement between SABC and MultiChoice, including the sub-licensing amount, remain unclear. However, it was reported in the Sunday Times that SABC refused to pay $2 million (approximately R38.3 million) to sub-license all seven confirmed and potential Springbok matches from MultiChoice. Sources familiar with the negotiations suggested that the SABC could not afford such a sum and accused MultiChoice of employing a last-minute strategy.
Sports minister Zizi Kodwa expressed concern over the potential unavailability of Rugby World Cup matches to millions of South Africans and urged the SABC to work toward a resolution to the standoff.
The tournament, running from 8th September 2023 to 28th October 2023, will feature a total of 48 matches, meaning SABC viewers will miss out on 32 games. This arrangement is significantly more favorable than the 2019 World Cup, when the only match the public broadcaster could show was the final between the Springboks and England.
