[Submitted via press release]
On Tuesday (15th) the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) and the South African Football Association (SAFA), held a signing ceremony to formalise the three year agreement, which was announced last month.
This will make the SABC the exclusive free to air broadcaster of three national soccer teams.
The total value of the contract is in the region of R215m for a period of three years.
The terms of the agreement are as follows:
1. The SABC will have all the free to air broadcasting rights of Bafana Bafana home matches and any away friendly matches;
2. The rights will also include Banyana Banyana matches and any away friendly matches that Banyana Banyana may be involved in. The SABC will however be obliged to broadcast four of these matches a year, and further matches will be broadcast should schedule and programming permit;
3. The rights to broadcast all Under 23 home matches and any away friendly matches that they may be involved in. The SABC will however be obliged to broadcast three of these matches a year, and further matches will be broadcast should schedule and programming permit.
4. The deal also includes a new SAFA magazine programme to be launched in the new season, as well as new initiatives in regional radio through the SABC radio stations.
SABC Group Chief Executive Officer, Ms. Lulama Mokhobo said “We are excited about the new era we are entering with SAFA. Since the ending of the last contract, we were negotiating on a match to match basis, which posed challenges in our ability to plan adequately for transmission. This also caused, in some instances, a situation where we broadcasted delayed matches”.
“Our viewers will now be able to enjoy more live matches, without the worry that they won’t be able to watch their national teams playing. This partnership empowers us to serve the needs of soccer loving fans” concluded Ms. Mokhobo.
The SAFA CEO, Dr Robin Petersen, expressed his thanks to the SABC: “This has been a long journey which has now reached a good destination. We are delighted with the contract, which is a substantial improvement of the previous one, and will go a long way to help us to fund the development and other football needs of the Association.”