SARU Gets it Wrong on the Broadcast of Rugby!

1. SARU’s press release of 11 July 2src24 concerning the ongoing disputes over sports rights involving eMedia, SuperSport and the SABC, is fundamentally incorrect.
2.  It is therefore necessary for eMedia to set the record straight, given Mr Mark Alexander’s mischaracterisation of the facts underlying the legal action taken by eMedia in relation to agreements between SuperSport and the SABC concerning the broadcast of sporting events involving national sports teams.
3. To understand the current situation relating to the broadcast of certain sports events on free-to-air television, one needs to start with understanding what happened in relation to the broadcast of the World Cup which the Springboks won. SuperSport purchased the exclusive rights to broadcast the Rugby World Cup games including the free-to-air rights, even though it could not use them. It was legally obliged to give all free-to-air broadcasters an opportunity to tender for the free-to-air broadcasting rights. It did not do so! Rather, at the last minute, SuperSport entered into an agreement with the SABC to broadcast certain of these games including all the South African games and the finals. However, the agreement between SuperSport and the SABC was worded in such a way that it prevented the SABC from broadcasting these games on its own channel as carried on the Openview platform. It was allowed to broadcast these games on every other terrestrial and satellite platform. This meant that 25% of the SABC’s own audiences, who access the SABC channels via Openview, were deprived of watching the World Cup.
4. eMedia subsequently approached the Competition Tribunal which ruled in eMedia’s favour. This ruling provided:

“The First to Fourth Respondents [i.e. SuperSport, MultiChoice and the SABC] are interdicted from implementing and enforc