Competition means broadcast game has to change

Deja Vu

I don't see the problem with MCA buying the soccer rights. It's exactly what happened to rugby 11 years ago, and the SABC didn't care about that....

I agree with Harber's points here. Tough sh*t SABC, you didn't offer enough. In real terms higher TV revenue should improve the health of the clubs in the PSL. That should create better quality football for the fans. More money means better players.

The SABC will get access to the games, but might need to bid for each match. So a derby match will go the highest bidder be it e-tv or SABC.

Anyhow the deal requires that 140 matches are made available for free to air. When the SABC had the rights, they screened...80. Enough said. The term "dog in a manger" springs to mind. And now they want to waste taxpayer and license fee payer's money by taking it to court? To prove what? That the PSL didn't follow the correct process? So what? There is no way that the SABC would be able to match Multichoice's offer, so it would just be a waste of time, money and energy.

The problem with companies like SABC and Telkom etc. is their entitlement complex, they can't handle that someone else is actually competing with them.

Murdoch was the visionary who saw the link between television and sport, and how they fed off each other.

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His vision being to control as much of the media as possible, make lots of money out of anyone who will pay... Really not a model to copy.

Murdoch did much the same for the launch of his Fox TV network in the US,

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And that's a good thing is it?

We can debate whether this is good or bad, but in a market economy, it is as inevitable as a full stadium when Chiefs play Pirates.

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Indeed. The price you will pay will be somewhere between what you feel it is worth and what the seller can get away with.

No money no sport; no money no health care

Nice.

XCentricdave said:

No money no sport; no money no health care

Nice.

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That was my initial reaction to this news. But after thinking about it, and after reading this yesterday I see it differently.

Yeah, its not great at first glance for the average soccer fan. But, in the terms of the deal Supersport has to offer 151 games to free-to-air channels, that's about twice as many as were televised last year.

And yeah, its a great cash boost for SA soccer. Maybe we can attract the cream of the african players before they disappear to Europe? Maybe we can keep our own players here?

This is about a near-monopoly being complacent and being caught out. I think that by the end of the season, most soccer fans will wish it had happened sooner.

chiskop said:

This is about a near-monopoly being complacent and being caught out. I think that by the end of the season, most soccer fans will wish it had happened sooner.

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Agreed about the SABC monopoly, and that the wake up call is much needed.
I was more concerned about pushing the Murdoch, News International, mega corp as a 'good idea' which we should aspire to....