While viewers in Lesotho, Namibia, Mozambique, Swaziland, Botswana - even Swaziland and Zimbabwe - can all watch the 2012 Olympic Games from London live on YouTube, South African viewers can't.
While 64 nations including the Basotho can watch the 2012 Olympic Games live on the internet on YouTube, South Africans don't get this privilege and are not allowed. South African viewers can however watch some recorded events uploaded and made available later, as well as highlights, trailers and Olympic Games archive material. But nothing live on YouTube.
South African viewers have to watch it either on MultiChoice's SuperSport channels or some coverage on the South African public broadcaster's SABC1, SABC2 and SABC3.
So why are some African countries (along with a myriad of Asian countries and other across the globe) allowed to watch a live free stream from the Official Olympic Channel run by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) - although some of these African countries' public broadcasters also show some Olympic coverage and they also have an overlap of several SuperSport channels also showing the Olympic Games?
It's because most of these other countries lack big media companies who've bid for the exclusive rights with the aim of monetising that coverage and deriving revenue from getting people to watch it. Thanks to simple economics, they're too poor to care or unable to make a profit, or don't have the infrastructure or inclination to want to do so.
In an ironic sense, South Africa's media landscape is too well developed - balancing on the tip of the uncomfortable middle ground: Not quite dark Africa, yet not quite first world - yet first world enough when it comes to the Olympic Games.
So instead of being one of the 64, South Africa is part of the United States of America (NBC), Australia (Foxtel, Nine Network), the United Kingdom (BBC), Canada and New Zealand (Sky Sport) where viewers are not allowed to watch the 2012 Olympic Games live on the IOC's YouTube channel.
Enjoy those Turin 2006 Olympic Winter Games Cross Country Skiiing archived highlight clips. Amazing. Amazing.
