If all the soccer were not enough, the other two of South Africa’s big three sports, cricket and rugby, are also getting more time on the box.
It will be interesting to see how many masochists tune in to watch the home side take on the Australian cricketers again in the second Test, followed almost immediately by the third. The second Test is on e.tv and Supersport for five days (who’re they kidding?) from Friday from 10am to 6pm.
Rugby in the form of the Super 12 and Vodacom Cup is also under way. The latter is on M-Net and SABC, and the Super 12 games are exclusive to the pay channel. Considering the not very veiled message from Minister of Sport and Recreation Ngconde Balfour at the competition’s launch last month, though, this might not be the case for too much longer. He suggested that part of rugby’s efforts to get the sport to the previously disadvantaged should include making sure all the big games are on free-to-air TV. He didn’t elaborate on how this would be paid for.
This feast is a godsend for sports fans, but where does it leave the rest of the TV audience? Most people don’t mind the occasional two-hour rugby or soccer match interrupting their viewing, but it’s a gamble on the part of e.tv’s scheduling department to take up a third of a day’s programming for five consecutive days with a single item, particularly if you have only one channel.
Sports fans are also fickle viewers an informal vox pop of friends and acquaintances after the last Test found most switched off as Australia gained the ascendancy.
Those who don’t enjoy watching men playing with balls had better ensure their library dues are paid up. Julia Beffon