South Africa’s Sports Minister Gayton McKenzie is fighting to break MultiChoice’s long-held monopoly on live sports broadcasting through SuperSport. He has stated he is ready to “go to war” if necessary to ensure that all South Africans can watch their national sports teams.
This means eMedia, which had already sued MultiChoice, will not be alone in this battle. eMedia claimed that MultiChoice violated a tribunal order related to its deal with the SABC.
MultiChoice’s exclusive rights to broadcast major sports events, like national rugby and cricket matches, have caused disputes with eMedia and the SABC over who gets to show these events.
In early July, eMedia took its case to the Competition Appeal Court, accusing SABC and MultiChoice’s SuperSport of breaking an April 2024 Competition Tribunal ruling. This ruling had canceled agreements that kept SABC from showing sports events on eMedia’s channels, including Openview.
Despite this, SABC and MultiChoice reached a new deal to show sports events like the T20 Cricket World Cup final and rugby test matches on SABC’s platforms but not on Openview. eMedia tried to either cancel this deal or get the rugby matches shown on its platform.
Additionally, MultiChoice turned down eMedia’s offer to broadcast Springbok rugby test matches against Ireland on Openview, saying the offer was too low.
On July 18, 2024, the Minister gave a “friendly warning” to broadcasters, stating that national teams don’t belong to MultiChoice, SABC, or eMedia, and should be accessible to everyone. He said he would use existing laws to address the issue if necessary.
“There is legislation — which has never been used — that prevents them from doing what they are doing,” said McKenzie. “I plan to use that legislation fully. We come in peace, but if they want a fight, they will get one.”
SuperSport channels are only available with the top-tier DStv Premium package, which costs R929 for satellite and R799 for streaming, making it unaffordable for many South Africans.
In Nigeria, MultiChoice faced legal action from the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) over alleged unfair price hikes for DStv and GOtv subscriptions, but the case was recently withdrawn.
It is also worth noting that MultiChoice is on the brink of being acquired by French media company Canal+.
