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After being bogged down in legal issues over it for years, the SABC will go ahead and show the first live boxing match in many years on the public broadcaster on 26 June, televising a bout from Birchwood in Gauteng.
After postponing an initial announcement, the
minister of sport, Fikile Mbalula and the SABC finally announced on Friday
night from the SABC's M1 Studios that boxing matches will again be shown on the public broadcaster from 26
June at 21:30.
On 26 June the SABC will broadcast an
international 10-round bantamweight bout on SABC2 and then a bout for the
middleweight Gauteng title between Tebogo Molose (32) and Walter Dlamini (35)
from the Birchwood Hotel.
Boxing's public profile in South Africa had
diminished hugely over the years as private and commercial sponsors largely
fell away due to the dramatic decrease in television exposure, which in turn
negatively impacted the sport.
Major legal wrangling and rights issues
behind the scenes and a longrunning blackout by the SABC prevented professional
boxing from being shown on the public broadcaster for the past half a decade,
since boxing was dumped from SABC2 on Friday nights.
SuperSport as a pay-TV sports broadcaster has
the rights to show all live and international boxing tournaments on its
channels on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV platform.
In addition boxing promotors have been
concerned about their earnings in the complex deals structures regarding
broadcasting rights.
In 2012 boxing promotor Branco Milenkovic
took Boxing South Africa (BSA) and the SABC to court to block them from signing
a broadcasting rights deal over who owned the boxing TV rights – BSA or boxing
promotors.
The SABC's latest available annual financial
report for 2014 also states that Branco Sports Production got an interdict
agains the SABC and the BSA from signing an agreement to regulate broadcasting
dates. "Branco also issued summons against the SABC claiming R38 million for
alleged short payments".
Mbalula: 'We want
boxing back on TV'
"It's good to speak to you tonight and not
talk about FIFA and talk about another sport," said Fikile Mbalula to the attendees on
Friday night which included some boxers, politicians, what's left of the
members of the SABC board, SABC executives and boxing promotors.
Fikile Mbalulula several times slammed South Africa's
boxing promotors, but refrained from going into too much detail as to the years
long backstage fight which crippled the broadcasting of boxing.
"We want boxing back on television. Boxing
has created wealth and made millionaires. Those who are going to make money out
of boxing going forward should learn from the mistakes from the past," warned Fikile Mbalula, saying "boxing was truly global in South Africa".
"We want fairness.We don't want one-way
traffic where the boxer gets nothing and the promotor gobbles up everything," said Fikile Mbalula.
'Those who want to
stop us, let them try'
"Fridays will not be the same. You will be
able to watch your boxers win titles and defend them," said Fikile Mbalula.
"Those who want to stop us, let them try, we
are ready for them. We are unstoppable."
"We're going to walk on
top of them like, you know, verosity of a cornered bull. We will trample over
them. We will fight for the rights of our people and making the point that
boxing is back."
SABC’s Hlaudi: 'We
are a big animal'
The SABC's controversial and famously matricless
chief operating officer (COO) Hlaudi Motsoeneng got in a sideswipe to
SuperSport, saying the SABC can deliver the big audiences for boxing and that televised
boxing on small TV channels don't reach people as effectively.
"SABC we are very happy. For us it is very
important as a public broadcaster because it show that we are a big animal. It
shows us that you can put boxing in the small broadcasters – they will never
reach people. They are not reaching people."
"Those people who are angry they know SABC
daily reach more than 27 million. Which is huge. No-one can reach that
audience. But also for us it is not about bringing boxing back. It is about spreading
boxing to all provinces, not just one province."
"We can't show useless boxers. We need real
fighters. That's very important for the SABC," said Hlaudi Motsoeneng.
Legal issues
"The biggest challenge [with getting boxing
back on the SABC] has been the legal issues, wherein which it prohibited us to
go back with the SABC to get boxing back on track," said Fikile Mbalula. "Blow by Blow [on SABC2] collapsed. The
other issue is about funding. The private sector withdrew."
"Let the promotors put up good bouts and do
good boxing and promote good boxers," said Fikile Mbalula. "Wherever they are the SABC
must follow them".
Fikile Mbalula said "the people who love boxing and
the sport like boxing, will be able to on that platform [SABC] – except if they're
affected by loadshedding – they will be able to watch boxing."
