By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Pay channel SuperSport has dismissed claims about the broadcast of the Castle Lager Rugby Championship clashes of the Springboks-All Blacks matches on SABC.
The world champion Boks face the All Blacks in the Rugby Championship on 31 August at Ellis Park, before a 7 September duel in Cape Town, in a rematch of the 2023 Rugby World Cup final.
Gayton McKenzie, SA’s sports, arts and culture minister, recently announced at a presidential imbizo in Tsakane, East Rand, that these high-profile matches would air on public broadcaster SABC, even for viewers without a decoder.
“I met with SuperSport, and I’m happy to say you’ll be able to watch the Springboks and New Zealand game without a decoder,”McKenzie said.
However, pay channel SuperSport has refuted this, stating no agreement had been reached with any broadcaster for these much-anticipated fixtures.
“Contrary to news reports, at this stage, SuperSport has not concluded agreements with any broadcaster for the Castle Lager Rugby Championship matches, including the Springboks-All Blacks matches,” the broadcaster said in a statement late on Friday.
“SuperSport will bring the Springboks-All Blacks matches live to DStv viewers.
McKenzie, though, has stood by his remarks, responding on X, formerly known as Twitter: “Nobody lied here,we know the terms and expectation from the right holder for us 2 make this available, we intent to fully meet those expectations in the interest of the nation. This is not a normal game, this is the anniversary of the most important rugby game. Let talk in a week”
This controversy comes after the SABC had to cancel its coverage of the Bok-Ireland series last month, following litigation over broadcast rights.