Thinus Ferreira
There will be no PSL football on the SABC today as the 2026/2027 season kicks off with the opening round of Betway Premiership fixtures starting on Saturday, 1 August after the South African public broadcaster and SuperSport's French-owned Canal+ Africa both failed to reach a sub-licensing deal in time.
In an embarrassing admission, the SABC and Canal+ Africa, in a joint statement on Friday evening, said they have failed to reach a deal to show PSL matches from the start of the new season, from today on free-to-air television in South Africa.
While the SABC's discussions with Canal+ continue to "progress positively", there's been a massive failure in reaching any deal timeously between the public broadcaster and the French pay-TV operator that took over MultiChoice.
The SABC hopes to sign some type of deal with Canal+ Africa to start broadcasts of the Betway Premiership only from around 15 August 2026.
Nomsa Chabeli, SABC CEO, in the statement said the public broadcaster remains "optimistic" that a deal will be signed with Canal+ Africa's SuperSport "soon" to bring PSL matches to free-to-air viewers.
"We remain optimistic that these will be concluded soon, allowing us to bring even more South African football to audiences across the country."
"The SABC appreciates that football supporters were looking forward to the opening weekend of the Betway Premiership and extends its gratitude to audiences for their patience and understanding while the remaining discussions are concluded."
David Mignot, Canal+ Africa and MultiChoice Group CEO, in the statement says, "We continue to have engaging discussions about the rest of the 2026/2027 free-to-air sub-licensing agreement, which we hope to conclude soon, more so in this historic 30th season of the PSL."
Neither Nomsa Chabeli nor David Mignot explained any of the reasons why the SABC and Canal+ Africa both failed to reach a deal in time by the start of today's new season.
