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The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa's (Icasa’s) proposed changes, which are meant to make sport more accessible to the public by broadcasting major international and national sporting events on free-to-air channels, are commendable and should be welcomed.
At face value, they seem to be coming from the right place, but practically, they can have devastating consequences.
Many South Africans miss out on major sporting events, notably cricket and rugby, simply because they do not have access to a satellite dish.
However, the broadening of access should not come at the cost of the financial health of professional sport, which gets most of its funding from MultiChoice’s SuperSport International channel.
It is to be hoped that this move is genuine and is not a back-door attempt to bail out the cash-strapped SABC.
It is well documented that the public broadcaster does not have money to bid for all the major sporting events, but the SABC cannot be expected to get the rights on a silver salver.
Sports rights cost a lot of money and, internationally, have become the lifeblood of sporting bodies.
While the SABC and the general public would benefit immensely, this move would pose a serious threat to these professional organisations’ future as their livelihoods depend on the billions accrued from broadcast sponsorship.
If this were to be the case, without exclusivity, the pay channel would have no reason to dish out millions or billions to the Premier Soccer League (PSL), Cricket SA and the SA Rugby Union – and who will lose out?
If adopted, the Icasa proposals will have a ripple effect.
The PSL will be unable to pay the same amount of grants to clubs, like it does at the moment – R2.5 million a month – and, as a result, clubs will be unable to attract great talent because they will not be able to pay.
About 80% of PSL clubs do not have sponsors and rely on their monthly grants for survival.
Among the casualties will be the discovery and development of young talent, which is heavily dependent on viable professional sports bodies.
If the intention is to shake up the MultiChoice monopoly, let it be stated as such and the appropriate competition laws, regulations and instruments applied. Just don’t kill our sport.
