South Africa's sports minister Nathi Mthethwa failed to properly manage his self-announced, self-set and self-created public expectations and together with pay-TV operator MultiChoice, SuperSport, the SABC and the Premier Soccer League (PSL) failed to announce on Thursday a breakthrough in a sub-licensing rights Absa Premiership deal for the public broadcaster.
Late Thursday night sports minister Nathi Mthethwa who appears incompetent, released a vague statement making a new promise after just having broken one, saying that a "full statement" would be released before the end of the day on Friday 23 August.
Earlier this week Nathi Mthethwa - who belatedly started to intervene in the ongoing crisis at the SABC not showking any of the new Absa Premiership season's soccer matches on the broke South African public broadcaster after its failure and refusal to sign any sub-licensing rights broadcast agreement - announced that an announcement about a breakthrough would be made on Thursday.
Thursday however came and went without anything from South Africa's minister of sports who oversold a possible agreement between MultiChoice, SuperSport, the SABC and the PSL that by Thursday night didn't exist.
The SABC demanded a 96% discount in the licensing rights price from SuperSport for Absa Premiership matches from which the SABC sub-license the broadcasting rights.
The SABC said that it can't afford the licensing rights sticker price and SABC top brass went as far as ordering presenters at the public broadcaster to withhold information from South African citizens and to not even mention Absa Premiership match scores on air or to discuss or do any commentary about the PSL.
The SABC claimed that a broadcasting licensing deal with SuperSport was not financially viable for the broadcaster and something it couldn't afford and that the SABC would make revenue of just R47 million a year if they accepted the deal and lose money.
The South African government responded reactively and belatedly as in previous cases said it would do meetings with the SABC, the PSL and MultiChoice.
The ongoing, massive problem with sports rights remains unsolved by the South African government and the departments of sports and communications, who constantly - after a blackout crisis at the SABC - respond with a meeting, followed by some short-term plaster TV package on the gaping wound, and then nothing to solve the long-term systemic problems and bleeding.
After a first meeting with the SABC and the PSL, Nathi Mthethwa on Wednesday in a statement said that he met on Tuesday with Dr Irvin Koza, PSL chairperson; as well as Imtiaz Patel, the MultiChoice Group's chairperson, and Calvo Mawela on Tuesday.
In a statement late on Thursday night, Nathi Mthethwa said that on Thursday evening he and Stella Ndabeni Abrahams, South Africa's communications minister, had met with Dr Irvin Khoza; Bongumusa Makhathini, SABC board chairperson; Madoda Mxakwe, SABC CEO; Craig van Rooyen, SABC COO who is on his way out; as well as MultiChoice's Imtiaz Patel and Calvo Mawela "to further push for a solution".
Nathi Mthethwa said on Thursday night that " all parties are finding each other in the impasse which resulted in the non-broadcast of PSL matches on the SABC" and that there's been "a breakthrough" without wanting to say what it was.
He said that "a full statement which will entail details of the agreement" will be "communicated before close of business on Friday".
Why Nathi Mthethwa publicly promised an announcement on Thursday and then didn't deliver isn't clear.
