Picture: for illustration purposes
eMedia Holdings, the parent company of e.tv, has launched a legal bid against SuperSport regarding the broadcasting rights to the 2023 Rugby World Cup on its digital platform, Openview. Although MultiChoice and SuperSport secured the licensing rights to the 2023 Rugby World Cup, SABC acquired sublicensing rights last month from SuperSport for R57 million. This sublicensing deal allows SABC to air 16 out of the 48 matches on their TV channels.
The complexity arises from MultiChoice preventing SABC from broadcasting the Rugby World Cup matches obtained from SuperSport on the versions of SABC's TV channels available on Openview. This is due to Openview being a direct competition to MultiChoice. eMedia counters this argument by stating that content on public broadcaster SABC should be universally accessible to all South Africans, irrespective of the distribution platform. Now, eMedia has officially filed a lawsuit in the high court against MultiChoice and SuperSport.
CEO of eMedia, Khalik Sherrif, voiced his opinion through a statement, "The anticompetitive action is nothing short of domination. The 3.2 million households affected by the decision should voice their dissatisfaction." MultiChoice is standing its ground, deeming the pitch from eMedia void of merit.
This court tug-of-war and the lawsuit it has spawned can be traced back to the cooling relationship between eMedia and MultiChoice, invoked by eMedia's rising multi-channel content aspirations. The dispute extends beyond the Rugby World Cup and is causing ripples in the broadcasting field.