A high-level meeting on Tuesday between eMedia, the SABC, and the newly appointed ministers of communications and sport aimed at dealing with tensions in sports broadcasting was “fruitful”.
This is according to communications minister Solly Malatsi, who was speaking to the radio station Power FM on Wednesday.
Malatsi described the meeting with the broadcasters, which also included sports minister Gayton McKenzie, as productive.
However, representatives from SuperSport and its parent MultiChoice Group, who had been invited to participate in the meeting, did not attend. TechCentral sent a query to MultiChoice to determine why it did not attend the meeting and will update this article if and when feedback is provided.
The meeting came amid a rancorous feud between eMedia and MultiChoice over a contractual clause restricting the SABC from distributing sublicensed rugby test matches meant to air on 6 and 13 July via the SABC channels carried on eMedia’s free-to-air Openview satellite TV platform.
The battle between the broadcasters heated up when eMedia filed complaints with the Competition Commission and the Competition Tribunal in October 2023 following MultiChoice’s refusal to allow rugby and cricket games sublicensed to the SABC to be carried on Openview.
The background
In its October filing, eMedia said MultiChoice had a dominant market position and secured exclusive rights, including free-to-air rights, due to its financial strength. It also accused MultiChoice of anticompetitive behaviour in sublicensing agreements, exemplified by the restriction that prevented Openview from carrying the Cricket World Cup and Rugby World Cup games last year. MultiChoice used its market power to compel the SABC to accept this, eMedia alleged.
Then, in April this year, the Competition Tribunal granted interim relief to eMedia for a period of six months, or until the Competition Commission concludes an investigation into the matter, whichever comes first. The relief order restricted the SABC and MultiChoice from entering into sublicensing agreements that sideline eMedia’s Openview platform.
Earlier this month, the SABC and SuperSport reached an agreement over the Irish tests that eMedia claimed was in breach of the interim relief order. Following litigation by eMedia, the SABC then backed out of the Irish test deal with SuperSport, leading to both test matches not being flighted on SABC 2 or SABC Sport.
“As new ministers in our portfolios, we need to understand what the sources of the deadlock are,” Malatsi told Power FM. “The second aspect [we needed to understand] is the commercial aspects of the contest for bidding for sports rights, which is a far more complicated issue because it is about market competition, etc.”
Together with the Minister of Sports @GaytonMcK we met this evening with the leadership of eMedia and SABC in an effort to find solutions to the ongoing sports broadcasting rights #GNU pic.twitter.com/JEtpDpEcpC
— SollyMalatsi (@SollyMalatsi) July 16, 2024
Malatsi said the meeting shed light on the collective responsibility that all role players, regardless of whether they are a national broadcaster or not, have in delivering sports matches of national interest to the public.
He said he and McKenzie noted that there are “regulatory impediments”, with specific reference to Icasa’s rules, that contribute to “constant uncertainty”, which has led to legal skirmishes in the industry.
The two ministers have committed themselves to investigating these “regulatory obstacles” and tackling them in a way that will lead to “fairness in the competition for sports rights”.
One bone of contention to come out of the meeting is the definition of sports matches that are in the “national interest”, a concept which Malatsi said has created loopholes that have led to confusion.
Friendly matches such as the Irish tests between the Springboks and Ireland on 6 and 13 July do not fit the definition, whereas global tournaments and regional matches like the Africa Cup of Nations do – even though the public was clearly interested in the Irish/Bok test series.
Malatsi said although engagement with the broadcasters is a first step to dealing with the issues, both he and McKenzie are focused on avoiding it becoming a “talk shop”.
‘Quick win’ interventions
He said he has included as part of the agenda for an upcoming meeting between himself and Icasa a discussion on “quick win” interventions through the relevant regulations to ease the impasse between SuperSport, eMedia and the SABC.
“It is very important as a starting point so that when we as ministers make pronouncements about finding solutions, we understand the dynamics at play and make informed interventions,” said Malatsi. – © 2024 NewsCentral Media
