The Premier Soccer League (PSL) has received expressions of interest for its soccer radio broadcasting rights after cancelling its temporary radio agreement with the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC).
PSL spokesperson Ronnie Schloss said on Monday the temporary broadcasting rights granted to the national broadcaster were cancelled on Friday after the SABC had failed to respond to a PSL deadline on the matter, which had expired on August 19.
It had been agreed that the SABC would be granted temporary radio broadcasting rights for the Telkom Charity Trust game on August 4. This was extended to allow coverage of the SAA Supa8 and the first round of the premiership games, Schloss said.
”We gave them until August 19 to conclude the contract, which they haven’t done,” he said. ”Either we come to an agreement with the SABC or we don’t. Or we have the right to sell … it could be to a community radio station, it could be anyone.”
”We have had quite a few enquiries,” added Schloss, but he would not name from whom. Currently the rights are owned by the PSL.
The latest development follows the sale of television broadcasting rights to pay-TV channel SuperSport for more than R1-billion.
A spokesperson for the SABC was not immediately available for comment.
The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) urged the SABC and the PSL to resolve their differences quickly around the broadcasting of soccer matches, saying it was hurting soccer lovers.
KwaZulu-Natal IFP spokesperson Eddie Coleman said: ”For the sake of multitudes of poor people who have no access to televisions and who cannot afford to go to the stadiums, we urge both the SABC and PSL to deal with their differences maturely and quickly.” — Sapa