JOHANNESBURG – With the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) having announced that it will not broadcast the 2019 Rugby World Cup, the Democratic Alliance (DA) has launched an appeal on behalf of poor South Africans.
The DA’s Shadow Communications Minister Phumzile van Damme has launched an appeal to DStv (MultiChoice), in the hope that the rugby can somehow be broadcast on non-subscription channels too.
Following the announcement by the state broadcaster this week, many South Africans who do not have the luxury of having the DStv decoder in their homes are set to miss the global showpiece.
It was reported that the embattled SABC has failed to secure the broadcasting rights to the tournament from the pay-tv channel based in Randburg and as it stands, no games from Japan will be broadcast on a free-to-air channel or radio station in South Africa.
Having the tv broadcasting rights of the RWC is financially beneficial to @Multichoice, particularly to recoup their purchase price, however working with the SABC will go a long way in demonstrating goodwill to SAns & contributing to nation-building.#PatriotismOverProfits
— Democratic Alliance (@Our_DA) September 18, 2019
Following their stand-off between the cash strapped SABC and MultiChoice, Van Damme has asked MultiChoice, to consider airing all of South Africa’s games for free.
“In the spirit of nation-building, MultiChoice should at the very least consider sharing games in which the Springboks are playing with the public broadcaster. This will go a long way in demonstrating goodwill to the people of South Africa and contributing to nation-building,� said Van Damme.
“The 1995 Rugby World Cup played an important role in uniting South Africans at a critical time in our democracy. And in that spirit, MultiChoice should seriously consider further contributing to that important objective of our democracy. MultiChoice should consider the corporate social responsibility it has to the people of our country.�
According to The South African website, the SABC can no longer afford to spend the R400 million required to secure the broadcasting rights to the Rugby World Cup.
SuperSport effectively own the monopoly on these games, but Van Damme is pleading with the network to help rugby fans all across the country.
Meanwhile, the corruption and financial mismanagement of the Hlaudi Motsoeneng era has been identified as one of the reasons SABC are now impotent when it comes to competing for sports packages.
His appearance at the State Capture Inquiry last week revealed how his narcissistic tendencies drove the company into the ground.
Coached by Rassie Erasmus, the to-time World champions are set to open their campaign against fierce rivals New Zealand in Japan this weekend.
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