Athletics South Africa (ASA) president James Moloi says his organisation has heard the general outcry for the sports’ major events to be televised on the public broadcaster platform, and will ‘listen to and help’ anyone who approaches them to negotiate with rights holders SuperSport.
Addressing the media at the launch of the 2023 Soweto Marathon in Soweto last week, Moloi said that while they are in a four-year deal with the pay-channel, they are aware that SuperSport is not accessible to everyone and are thus open to the idea of their events being shared by broadcasters.
“We can be approached as the mother body to say because ‘you are the one who negotiated this broadcasting deal with these people, can you help us talk to these people that you have signed with because there are things that can be covered; there are certain individuals that don’t have DSTV and all that’,” said Moloi.
We will make it a point to say to SuperSport can we sit down because the whole world is crying, they want coverage. We will go there and try to negotiate and see, it has happened with soccer where they shared.”
The general outcry has been that the SuperSport deal robs ordinary South Africans to see their running heroes in action, with most people who follow running being generally of the lower LSM and thus with no access to DSTV.
“We understand (the outcry) because people are phoning us left and right. We hear it everywhere; people are saying they want the opportunity (to see the events on accessible TV). Even (former Sports and Recreation Minister Nathi) Mthethwa called me and said there’s an outcry but he said ’I don’t want to force you, but I am appealing to you because not everybody has got DSTV.’
“But as long as people can come to us, we don’t mind going to the people we have signed with to see how we can negotiate and help the situation. Even if we can call the government to help us.”
Since the ASA/SuperSport deal was signed last year, major running events such as the Comrades Marathon and Two Oceans have only been televised on the pay-channel with many missing the historic 2023 Comrades Marathon that saw Mafikeng athlete Tete Dijana not only defend his title but also running a new down run best time.
On a day when Gerda Steyn also smashed Frith van der Merwe’s 34-year-old mark. Steyn’s incredible fourth successive victory in the Two Oceans where she improved on her record from last year was also not accessible to the masses, the race being shown only on SuperSport.
The Soweto Marathon has had it the worst with the People’s Race incredibly not being televised even on SuperSport last year due to a battle between the race’s board of trustees and ASA. Three members of that board who were vociferous in their desire to have the race being broadcast on SABC instead of SuperSport have since been suspended and replaced by new ones, who have ensured the race will not only go on this year but will do so on the back of a five-year sponsorship deal with African Bank.
While the broadcast issue remain the big elephant in the room, Moloi said he does not foresee any risk of the race not being televised.
“I don’t think so. Let’s try by all means, all of us, to be positive. Maybe before November (the Soweto Marathon takes place on November 5) we will be talking a different language. We have heard questions being raised and by then we might be speaking a different language,” he responded, giving hints that the race could well be broadcast on SABC.
“If people are coming to us in writing and say we need your intervention, go talk to SuperSport, we will listen and see how e can help the situation. But we don’t want people to go public and speak, we need them to come to us and ask us how we can help the situation. We must respect the contract that we have signed. Maybe they might listen to us.”
@Tshiliboy
IOL Sport