LISTEN | 'I will fight': McKenzie on broadcasting of national sports events by SABC

After a public outcry, minister of sports, arts and culture Gayton McKenzie has vowed to resolve the issue of national sporting events being televised by the SABC.

“The biggest issue I'm fighting at the moment is that 80% of the people cannot watch their national teams. That is absolute nonsense. I will never stand for it.

“What makes me angry is that Orlando Pirates can do whatever they want to do, Kaizer Chiefs can do what they want to do, and each and every club can do what they want to do because that's their club, they are the owners. But when it comes to the national team, the owners are the people, so we must not exclude people from being able to watch the national team, whether it's netball or cricket, because they are poor. That's what we should not allow,” McKenzie said during an interview with Robert Marawa.

Many South Africans could not watch the Springboks vs Ireland rugby match in July as it was not televised on SABC channels and was only available on Supersport channels under the DStv Premium package, which many cannot afford.

The minister expressed his disappointment after discovering that many South Africans were unable to watch the Springboks' triumph.

“I enjoyed the game but felt anger, disappointment and sadness that so many South Africans could not watch. We need them to share in the Springbok joy. We can’t say we are a pro-poor country but don’t have the Boks on SABC. This needs to change. It must change, it’s going to change,” McKenzie said.

He said the SABC needs to “get their act together”.

“We don't want SuperSport to give us this game for free because they paid for it, but SABC needs to get their act together and pay fair value for the rights. We cannot allow that. I can't call myself the minister of sports, arts, and culture if the majority of the people can't watch national teams. I'm watching these games happily but also feeling guilty.”

He said he was heartbroken when he found out that one of his security guards could not watch the Springboks.

“I asked one of my protectors if they watched the national team and one of them said they would listen on the radio. That just broke my heart. We can't do that. I'm going to fight that fight. National games should be shown,” he said.

In an attempt to find a solution to this issue, McKenzie met in July with SABC and eMedia officials to discuss a solution together with communications minister Solly Malatsi. He said he would also be meeting with SuperSport soon.