This follows after I reported last Thursday that the SABC is dumping its annual December cricket coverage this year on SABC3 with none of the T20 matches happening between this Friday, 21 and 26 December being shown on the South African public broadcaster.
SABC3 - the only TV channel out of the SABC's three TV channels which bothers with cricket coverage - didn't comment on the story which I have tracked for the past 3 weeks, but sources told me that the SABC stalled with negotiations when contract negotiations were not concluded in time.
This past weekend Sunday newspapers carried follow-up stories.
Now I can report that the SABC has given Cricket South Africa (CSA) at least a verbal agreement that at least one of the matches between the Proteas and New Zealand will be broadcast, although there is no signed contract as of yet.
The SABC is pleading poverty and that it can't make the money back spent on sports rights, but the public broadcaster has the millions of rands for what amounts to extensive outside broadcasting production costs for coverage this December of its over-hyped "Deadline Mangaung" ANC National Conference where the SABC is splurging by deploying 200 SABC staff, including technicians, journalists, producers and cameramen in Bloemfontein with outside broadcast units as well as beefing up security to cover the ANC.
SuperSport on MultiChoice's DStv platform will be showing all the cricket action to pay-TV subscribers, but the SABC has been balking at the rights costs. The impasse comes even though the public broadcaster has been offered the cricket rights at half the price of the previous season - R15 million as compared to R30 million in the past.
