by Thinus Ferreira
The Walt Disney Company has sublicensed some of its ESPN sports content to the South African public broadcaster that continues to build out the programming of its SABC Sport channel on digital terrestrial television (DTT).
The new contract will bring ESPN content, until now limited to MultiChoice's DStv and China's StarTimes and StarSat pay-TV services in South Africa and across Africa, to free-to-air DTT viewers, as well as to eMedia's Openview free-to-air satellite service, and the TelkomONE subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) video streaming service.
As s customary, the SABC buried its news regarding a new contract with The Walt Disney Company and ESPN in a late Friday press release, limiting news media's ability and affinity to report on it.
On Friday after 17:00 the SABC and The Walt Disney Company Africa in a joint statement announced that they've signed a new distribution agreement for ESPN local and international sporting event, several of which will be broadcast live, news programming, as well as ESPN archive content that will get a free-to-air run.
"This agreement is going to add significant depth to our current offering on the SABC Sport channel," says Gary Rathbone, SABC Sport general manager.
"Our channel will now offer unrivalled content to our local sport fans seven days a week, thanks to ESPN's great boxing archive and film and documentary library."
"With the addition of long-awaited regular live boxing events, as well more live football, athletics and African basketball, it's clear that this partnership will deliver right across the board for our viewers."
"This partnership will not only give our viewers access to great sports content but will see the SABC Sport channel and our teams benefiting from the resources and experience that this collaboration with ESPN offers."
Kyle De Klerk, director of sports at The Walt Disney Company Africa, says "With this content agreement we are excited to not only be bringing ESPN's unprecedented and compelling sporting offering to new audiences, but to also be taking a great step in highlighting and celebrating some of the up and coming leagues and athletes from around this continent".
Christine Service, senior vice president and general manager of The Walt Disney Company Africa, says "We are delighted to be extending our relationship with the SABC to include ESPN, bringing another diversified and exciting brand from Disney's portfolio to local free-to-air audiences".
The ESPN content will be funneled immediately, from this weekend to SABC Sport, with two new ESPN-branded football slots that will be shown each Saturday and Sunday on SABC
Sport at midday during the European football season.
This slot will offer viewers a live English
Championship match on Saturdays at 13:30 and a Dutch Eredivisie game
on Sundays at 12:15, as well as highlights from the United States' Major League Socer and
premiere football news roundups from ESPN's magazine shows, including ESPN FC.
ESPN will show 4 live World Athletics events on SABC Sport, with the first that will be the U20 Championships in Nairobi, currently on air.
Other events include the World Indoor Championships from Serbia
(March 2022), World Race Walking Championships from Belarus (April 2022) and
the World Championships from the USA (July 2022).
SABC Sport will also broadcast the second season of the Basketball Africa League
(BAL), a partnership between the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and
the National Basketball Association (NBA), with select BAL fixtures that will be shown on SABC Sport in 2022.
SABC Sport will also show live boxing events and programming in 2022, including over 150 hours of boxing content from ESPN's library, showcasing the greatest
in boxing events, athletes and moments in the sport's history.
