Athletics South Africa Exits SuperSport After 4 Years With Further Matches Set To Be Broadcast On SABC

DStv consumers have to brace for more bad news as Athletics SA had announced that their agreement with SuperSport had come to an end after 4 years. As the new owners Canal+ are busy aggressively slashing costs at MultiChoice.

Canal+ stripped SuperSport of its acquisition power with decisions over what to broadcast made in Paris. Since then, DStv consumers had missed out on various events like World Darts Championship, Winter Olympics and now Athletics SA.

According to Cash N Sport, Athletics SA was in talks with the SABC and SuperSport but couldn't come to an agreement over which events would air on either broadcaster. They were aiming to restructure their broadcasting agreement with SuperSport.

After SuperSport and Athletics SA formed an alliance to have these matches broadcast exclusively on DStv. The plan was to make a non-exclusive agreement which would give them a cheque and increased exposure from the SABC. 

With Athletics SA losing a major broadcaster like SuperSport, there's growing fear about how they'll plan to accommodate it's staff and put on races. Advertising alone can't accommodate sports as opposed to general entertainment.

Even though these matches would be broadcast on SABC, the broadcaster has fallen on troubled times and relied on sponsors to cover such events. With them losing out on SuperSport, the quality of these matches will see further diminish.