Millions of cricket lovers across the country won’t be able to watch the Proteas take on India due to Cricket South Africa and the SABC failing to reach an agreement over broadcasting rights.
According to a statement released by Cricket South Africa on Friday afternoon, the two parties had reached an agreement over the broadcasting rights of the tour, but at the last minute, the SABC pulled out after the withdrawal of potential sponsors.
Earlier this year, the the national broadcaster announced they would not be able to broadcast both the Rugby and Cricket World Cups due to their breakdown in negotiations with rights holder, SuperSport.
After some government intervention, and with the help of sponsors, the SABC was eventually able to secure the right for the two tournaments.
Read the full Cricket South Africa statement below
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.
IOL Sport