No clarity on SABC broadcast of Libya game

● The broadcast of the Bafana Bafana Afcon qualifier against Libya in Durban on Saturday hinges on the outcome of the protracted contractual negotiations between the SABC and Safa.

At the core of the dispute between the two organisations is the amount of over R50m that Safa is claiming the public broadcaster still owes them from the previous agreement which states the SABC has to pay Safa R27.5m for every three months for the broadcast of all Safa-related matches.

“One way or the other the Bafana Bafana match will be televised. If it’s not on SABC, it will be on one of the platforms.

“The issue of contractual agreement between Safa and SABC is still outstanding,” said Safa’s communications manager, Dominic Chimhavi.

The SABC on the other hand is singing a different tune and banking on last-minute solutions, as happened with the rights to broadcast PSL matches on its radio stations.

Neo Momodu, SABC spokeswoman, told the Sunday Times that they were confident they will find a solution with Safa before kick-off of the match on Saturday.

“The SABC is committed to fulfilling its public-service mandate and will be broadcasting the Bafana Bafana game against Libya live on SABC1 and all of its African language stations, including Radio 2000,” said an adamant Momodu yesterday.

TimesLive reported last month that 60% to 70% of Safa’s revenue is generated from their partnership with the SABC.

The deal was for the public broadcaster to pay R10m a month for the right to broadcast Bafana Bafana, Banyana Banyana, SAB League National Championship, junior national teams and SAB Motsepe League as in the terms of the contract that ended in April.