Zimpapers Logo

Dingilizwe Ntuli Sports Editor
TELEVISION has changed the way sport is viewed, understood and marketed, as well as how it’s played, operated and officiated. People from around the world now know sportsmen and women from different countries as if they were their next door neighbours, thanks to TV. As a result of the game’s popularity, broadcasters the world over have been falling over each other to acquire exclusive rights TV rights for topflight leagues. As a result, topflight leagues generate revenue from multi-billion dollar TV rights contracts that broadcasters pay to screen live matches.

England has two pay-TV companies battling for the domestic TV rights for the Premier League — BT Sport and Sky Sports. In Spain, Telefonica and beIN Media Group battle over the privilege to showcase Real Madrid and Barcelona, while Sky Italia and Mediaset go head-to-head for Italian football each season. The Bundesliga in Germany has just one bidder, Sky Deutschland.

Neighbouring South Africa has SuperSport and public broadcaster SABC for the Absa Premiership and according to the PSL, that competition has seen both offering substantial amounts for the rights, resulting in improved monthly grants for clubs.

Clubs previously received R400,000 per month, but under the present deal, they each get R1 million per month plus a further R2 million ex-gratia payment. First Division clubs now get R150,000 per month, up from R50,000, in addition to a further ex-gratia payment of R300,000. The benefits have also been passed to the players, who now earn between R35,000 and R200,000 per month

SuperSport deploys cameras to all South African PSL matches and air Extra Time every Monday, which reviews all the weekend’s action and previews midweek matches. SABC1 also has Sports Zone that reviews weekend matches with a full highlight package.

However, this benefit has not flowed to the Castle Lager PSL where SuperSport holds to TV rights. The problem is that SuperSport does not offer weekly highlights of local league matches because they do not deploy any camera to matches that aren’t being screened live, thereby denying fans the opportunity to watch other players from unheralded teams. Some teams are promoted and relegated without fans ever getting to watch or know their players due to the absence of weekly highlights. In essence, this is not good for football development as the majority of the league’s players remain virtually unknown and sponsors stay away from the game, as it lacks a wide reach.

Under a proper deal, each game must be a major production, with SuperSport deploying a substantial number of cameras. Maybe the PSL must consider copying the EPL model by auctioning TV rights to the highest bidder for the sake of our football to prevent scenarios where SuperSport screens a handful of games and then bans individuals from filming for private use, while short-changing our football by predictably showing certain teams.

Our football will only become more marketable if SuperSport shows more live matches, highlights of all games, as well as reviews and previews.