South Africa miss out on IPL broadcast for first time in history

South Africa. (Photo Source: Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images/Getty Images)

For the first time since the inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League, South Africans will not be able to watch the tournament live on their television sets. SuperSport recently confirmed that the company has not secured the rights for the 16th edition of the tournament after they lost the Sub-Saharan African rights to Viacom18, in June 2022.

Notably, the conglomerate also won broadcast rights in England, New Zealand and Australia. However, viewers in these areas will be able to catch the action live on their TV sets as regional broadcasters have made a deal with Viacom18. Meanwhile, SuperSport or any other company in South Africa didn’t make any such move and thus, the fans will be derived from watching IPL live on television this season.

“SuperSport previously held broadcast rights to the Indian Premier League. Commercial discussions with the rights holder for the next cycle of rights have unfortunately been unsuccessful and SuperSport will therefore not broadcast the IPL as of this year’s edition,” a SuperSport spokesperson told ESPNcricinfo

Meanwhile, 15 South African cricketers will be seen playing in the forthcoming season of the IPL. Some of the top drawers in the form of Faf du Plessis, Aiden Markram, Quinton de Kock, Kagiso Rabada and David Miller among many others are part of the tournament but unfortunately many of the cricketers are yet to join their respective franchises because of international commitment.

Since the Proteas are yet to qualify for the upcoming ODI World Cup, the series against the Netherlands is extremely important for the Temba Bavuma-led side. Cricket South Africa (CSA) has named a strong squad for the remaining two matches and the players who are currently involved with the national team, are expected to reach India for IPL in the first week of April.

Meanwhile, it is reported that CSA is disappointed with the fact that the fans will not be able to watch IPL live on television. Especially, after the successful completion of the SA20 league, where all six teams are owned by IPL franchises.