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

For the first time since the inaugural edition of the IPL, 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. 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. Viewers in these areas will be able to catch the action live on their TV sets. The regional broadcasters in these areas have made a deal with Viacom18. Meanwhile, SuperSport or any other company in South Africa didn’t make any such move. 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

The forthcoming season of the IPL will feature 15 South African cricketers playing in it. 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. Unfortunately, many of the cricketers are yet to join their respective franchises because of international commitment.

According to reports, CSA is disappointed that the fans won’t be able to watch IPL live on television. This comes particularly after the successful completion of the SA20 league, where all six teams were owned by IPL franchises.