64 nations can watch the 2012 Olympic Games in London live and free on YouTube - South Africa of course isn't one of them.

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.

The SABC reveals the public broadcaster's logo for the upcoming 2012 London Olympic Games.

The SABC has revealed the South African public broadcaster's logo for the 2012 London Olympic Games.

SABC2 which will be showing Olympic broadcasts daily from 11:50 to 16:00 as the main TV channel of the SABC carrying Olympic coverage. During this timeslot, SABC2 will be showing whatever sport is taking place during that time.

SABC1 will be showing soccer and basketball (Sundays at 22:00) and SABC3 will be showing tennis.

SABC2 will also be showing the 2012 London Olympic Games Opening and Closing Ceremonies on 27 July and 12 August.

BREAKING. Big sport coverage on TopTV? 155 hours of 2012 Olympic Games coverage to be shown on MSNBC - or just silent black.

South African viewers could be in for a massive sport broadcasting bonanza from the end of July ... on TopTV of all places - since MSNBC (TopTV 410) will be showing 155,5 hours of 2012 Olympic Games coverage including soccer, basketball and wrestling.

ALSO READ: MSNBC on TopTV won't carry 2012 Olympic Games coverage; will substitute with filler long format content.

The American 24 hour news channel, included on TopTV's bouquet in South Africa, is a 100% relay news channel with zero differentiation in the channel feed except for in-house MSNBC filler promos during advertisements.

While MultiChoice's SuperSport clinched the broadcasting rights for the 2012 Olympic Games for pay TV platform DStv and the SABC signed on as the free-to-air broadcaster for 2012 Olympic Games coverage which will be shown on SABC2, TopTV could suddenly be in for an unexpected sports boost thanks to a third-party TV channel sending its signal and channel feed from outside South Africa.

Last week during TopTV's first ever programming preview for May to July in Cape Town, the South African pay TV operator - when specifically asked whether TV channels on the TopTV bouquet will have or show 2012 Olympic Games coverage - TopTV said it wasn't aware of any and that "the rival operator has those rights and presumably the SABC will show some of the rest".

Now MSNBC will show 155,5 hours of 2012 Olympic Games coverage from 20 different sports from July - including soccer, basketball and wrestling. Kelly Tilghman will be MSNBC's Olympic Games presenter.

TopTV, long criticized for its lack of sport coverage and top-tier sports channels, told a gathering of journalists and TV writers at its press preview last week that the pay TV operator "continues to work on a sport strategy."

There is also another scenario: That NBCUniversal and MSNBCwho have the 2012 Olympic Games rights, will somehow have to black out any and all Olympic Games visuals on MSNBC similar to how CNBC Europe had to black out any 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games coverage from the channel's reporting and even from the NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams two years ago.

In 2010 the amount of black silent air on live television on CNBC Africa and CNBC Europe with only a text scroll saying the broadcast doesn't have the rights became so much - due to the inclusion of Olympic Games coverage in news - that CNBC Europe dropped the NBC Nighly News with Brian Williams daily news bulletin entirely from the schedule.

Either TopTV viewers will see 155,5 hours of 2012 Olympic Games coverage on MSNBC two months from now, or TopTV will have a TV channel rendered basically a non-channel with 155,5 hours of silent black from two days before 23 July.

BREAKING. SABC signs as the free-to-air broadcaster for 2012 London Olympic; coverage from 27 July on SABC2.

The SABC announced that the South African public broadcaster has acquired the free-to-air broadcasting rights for the 2012 Olympic Games in London and will be using all 11 official languages during portions of different event coverage during the globalsport event.

The SABC's announcement follows SuperSport which tied upthe pay TV broadcasting rights to the 2012 London Olympics last year - I broke the news RIGHT HERE in December. The SABC will be using its 3 TV channels - but primarily SABC2 - as well as radio stations - but primarily Radio 2000 for Olympic Games coverage.

The SABC's Olympic Games coverage will stretch from 27 July until 12 August. SABC2 will start a new countdown show, Countdown to London 2012 every Sunday at 13:30 and also use the youthcentric afternoon slot Henctic Nine 9 on weekdays at 16:00 for additional Olympic Games coverage.

"The SABC has gained immense experience in covering sporting events of this magnitude following our successful coverage of the 2008 Olympics in beijing, the 2010 Fifa World Cup which was held on home ground as well as the 2011 IRB Rugby World Cup," says Kaizer Kganyago, SABC spokesperson.

"As a public broadcaster we are pleased that we have managed to secure the broadcasting rights for the 2012 London Olympics as we serve the needs of sports loving fans in our country. Viewers and listeners can expect exciting coverage from the broadcaster, complimented by world-class on-air talent, which will bring the games live into their homes."