OPINION: SA sport fans could be watching more live streams as SuperSport cuts costs
The T20 International tri-series in Namibia is the latest sports event not to be broadcast on South African television.
Local sport fans in South Africa can expect to see more live streams as SuperSport reduces costs, according to recent reports. Following the acquisition of Multichoice by French media giant Canal+, the new owners are focused on cutting expenses to boost profits. SuperSport subscribers have already noticed the impact, as the broadcaster decided not to purchase rights for the Winter Olympic Games earlier this year.
Rumors suggest that SuperSport may not renew its broadcast deal for the rugby competition next season, potentially limiting access to local teams.
The consequences of these cost-cutting measures could soon extend to cricket fans as well. The first match of a T20 International tri-series in Windhoek, featuring South Africa, Namibia, and Zimbabwe, was supposed to be broadcast on SuperSport. However, technical issues disrupted the feed during the opening game, and the remaining matches will not be available on TV.
SuperSport officials have not provided more details, but it appears they opted to utilize another company's feed instead of bidding for the primary broadcast rights and incurring the high costs of sending their own crew to Windhoek.
While cricket fans won't miss this particular series, as it involves second-string national teams, the absence of live broadcast coverage indicates that South Africans may need to adapt to watching some events through live streams. Cricket South Africa is streaming the remaining matches on their YouTube channel, and the International Cricket Council website has been providing live streams as well. This shift towards online broadcasting may become more commonplace as SuperSport continues to prioritize cost reduction.
Written by urgent.news from The Citizen's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
