Good news for South Africans who watch rugby on DStv
MultiChoice’s parent company, Groupe Canal+, announced on Friday that it had renewed its multi-year domestic broadcast rights agreement with the South African Rugby Union (SARU).
Under the agreement, SuperSport will remain the exclusive broadcast rights holder for all SARU’s domestic competitions and Springbok women’s and junior age-group matches in Sub-Saharan Africa.
This announcement is the first of its kind with a major local sports federation since Canal+ took control of MultiChoice in September last year.
“It reaffirms Canal+’s long-term commitment to local sport. SuperSport has been a proud SA Rugby broadcast partner for more than 30 years,” it stated.
Canal+ Africa CEO, David Mignot, said he was delighted with the continuation of the domestic rights agreement, which would make all domestic rugby matches available exclusively on SuperSport.
In South Africa, the SuperSport channels are supplied by Canal+ Africa to MultiChoice (Pty) Ltd (also known as LicenceCo), which provides the DStv offering to subscribers.
“As promised, we are doubling down on our investment in local content, including the sports content that matters the most to people on the continent,” said Mignot.
“In the South African market, rugby has grown into becoming a part of the national psyche — as evidenced by the national euphoria that erupted each time the Springboks won the Rugby World Cup.”
SARU president Mark Alexander said that “after a thorough and extensive series of engagements”, they were very happy to have concluded their first agreement with the MultiChoice Group and Canal+.
“They have demonstrated a shared understanding of the importance of rugby to the South African public and we trust this is the first of many such agreements,” stated Alexander.
Rendani Ramovha, Canal+ director for sports content in English and Portuguese-speaking Africa, said the renewal was a proud moment.
“It reaffirms our commitment to the sports fan. We’re grateful to our partners at SA Rugby for their collaborative spirit,” Ramovha said.
SA Rugby boss Rian Oberholzer said that broadcasting rights were fundamental to the health and sustainability of sport in South Africa.
“SuperSport has been a long-standing and trusted partner to South African Rugby and we are delighted to continue our partnership,” said Oberholzer.
“The world of rugby and broadcasting has changed significantly since we signed our first agreement in the 1990s, but it is a testimony to our mutual interests that the partnership continues to endure.”
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