by Thinus Ferreira
For the first time since 1992 Dstv subscribers won't be able to watch the upcoming 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) on SuperSport but will be able to watch it on the SABC that will announce on Friday that it has sublicensed it from New World TV, with SuperSport which failed to secure the broadcasting rights for the continental football tournament.
It remains to be seen whether the SABC will allow the version of its SABC TV channels carried on MultiChoice's DStv to show 2023 Afcon matches, since MultiChoice and SuperSport in 2023 blocked the SABC from showing 2023 Rugby World Cup matches on the version of SABC TV channels carried on eMedia's Openview.
In a statement, MultiChoice says "SuperSport will not be broadcasting the Africa Cup of Nations scheduled for 13 January to 14 February 2024 as they have not acquired the rights to broadcast the tournament".
MultiChoice says Afcon matches "will be available through the MultiChoice Africa partner broadcasters on free-to-air (FTA) channels. We will communicate should there be any further developments in this regard. MultiChoice Africa remains committed to ensuring football fans across Africa continue to enjoy unrivalled access to entertainment and football available on DStv and GOtv platforms."
MultiChoice's statement comes a day after an internal draft statement was leaked, which was MultiChoice's announcement that it failed to secure 2023 Afcon for SuperSport.
The tournament set for Ivory Coast is adding pressure on SuperSport as DStv subscribers have complained about SuperSport's lack of showing the African World Cup qualifiers, CAF Champions League for men and women and CAF Confederation Cup in West Africa over the last few months. Now, for the first time in 20 years, they won't be able to see 2023 Afcon on DStv.
The upcoming 2023 Afcon with the 24 best national teams from across the African continent was originally supposed to take place last year but got postponed due to adverse weather in Ivory Coast. Next year's edition is set for Morocco in the middle of the year.
The Togolese broadcaster New World TV snagged both the free-to-and pay-TV rights for the 2023 Afcon for sub-Saharan Africa, meaning that SuperSport would have to negotiate for sub-licensing rights with New World TV, similar to what the SABC usually has to do with SuperSport.
The SABC did sub-license some of the 2023 Afcon broadcasting rights from New World TV and plans to announce this on Friday according to insiders who spoke on condition of anonymity.
