Zuko Komisa

SABC will not be broadcasting the Cricket World Cup 2023.
The 2023 Cricket World Cup is set to begin on Thursday, with the Proteas facing Sri Lanka in their first match on Saturday.
After the SABC and satellite channel MultiChoice failed to reach a sub-licensing agreement, the majority of South Africans may miss the Cricket World Cup.
In a statement, the SABC said that it was not successful in securing these rights for South African audiences.
“Following the extensive negotiations with Multichoice (SuperSport) for the sub-licensing of the Cricket World Cup 2023 free-to-air broadcasting rights, the SABC regrets to announce that the Corporation was not successful in securing these rights for South African audiences.
The SABC has once again been disadvantaged in securing the broadcasting rights of one of the sporting codes classified as sport of national interest by ICASA due to the non-affordable sub-licensing fees and restrictive conditions imposed by Multichoice. This development is regrettable, and the Corporation would like to apologise to all Cricket fans and all South Africans.
The SABC remains committed to broadcasting sports of national interest as mandated, conversely this commitment will not be carried out in a manner that is detrimental to the organisation but provide a positive return on investment.”
The SABC and MultiChoice were previously locked in nail-biting protracted talks for the Rugby World Cup until a late intervention from the Department of Sport and the acquisition of three sponsors who paid more than R50 million allowed the public broadcaster to carry a small section of the event.
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In a related statement, Multichoice also confirmed that there was no agreement reached with the national broadcaster.
“After prolonged negotiations, the SABC last night rejected MultiChoice’s latest proposal for a possible sub-licensing of broadcast rights to the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 based on the proposed licence fee.”
“This is notwithstanding MultiChoice offering the rights to the SABC on significantly reduced commercial terms, given its current circumstances. MultiChoice is disappointed at the rejection of its various proposals.”
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