- With days to go before the 2023 Rugby World Cup Minister Zizi Kodwa has urged the SABC to secure a deal to broadcast the tournament.
- The exclusive broadcast rights are held by SuperSport which says the SABC has rejected every deal it has presented.
- The minister says that watching the national team – which has won the cup three times – is of utmost importance for nation-building.
This coming Friday night the 2023 Rugby World Cup begins with host nation France taking on New Zealand but if you’re South African, without a DStv subscription, you won’t be able to watch the tournament.
This is because SuperSport has the exclusive rights to broadcast the Rugby World Cup although it has engaged with the SABC in a bid to reach an agreement that would see all South Africans being able to watch the games. Unfortunately, those conversations have seemingly led nowhere according to SuperSport.
“SuperSport is disappointed that it has not reached an agreement with the SABC for the sub-licensing of broadcast rights to the 2023 Rugby World Cup despite SuperSport having made various proposals to the SABC on reasonable commercial terms,” the broadcaster said over the weekend per a News24 report.
The SABC has reportedly rejected all the proposals SuperSport presented to it and now the pair are at an impasse. At issue, as is seemingly always the case in this regards, is money. The broadcast rights for the Rugby World Cup are incredibly pricey and the SABC simply doesn’t have enough liquidity to pay for the rights. It’s not clear what SuperSport was going to charge the national broadcaster to sub-license the broadcast rights.
This hasn’t sat well with Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, Zizi Kodwa who has urged the SABC to find a solution to the matter.
“I am concerned at how millions of South Africans may be unable to watch the Rugby World Cup should the SABC not be able to broadcast matches in the tournament. My commitment is to give South Africans access to all sports codes,” said Kodwa.
“I am hopeful that an agreement will be reached between SABC and Supersport. Rugby plays a critical role in nation building and social cohesion. It is important that millions of South Africans can watch the Springboks continuing to lift the nation at the Rugby World Cup,” the minister added.
While World Rugby recently launched a free streaming service ahead of the World Cup, we don’t see any mention of being able to watch live matches on the platform. There is the possibility that Showmax Pro could be streaming the matches live but we’re given there hasn’t been an announcement yet, don’t count on this.
Some unscrupulous individuals may use a VPN to access live streams made available in other countries but this may violate terms of service so this is a risky option we don’t encourage.
There are still a few days before the World Cup begins so there is potential for the situation to change. For now, you may want to find a nice pub or call up your parents, friends, cousins, and acquaintances to find a spot to watch the world’s best Rugby teams compete for the ultimate trophy.
