Two major road-race bodies are claiming that Athletics South Africa’s (ASA) ownership of broadcast rights contravenes the Competition Act.
The issue came under the spotlight again this week after the SABC struck a deal on Friday to broadcast next Sunday’s Comrades Marathon.
The Comrades Marathon Association (CMA) and Cape Town Marathon (CTM) have lodged separate complaints alleging that the national federation does little for the millions it earns from broadcasting rights, while funnelling nothing back to them.
Broadcast rights were ASA’s biggest earner in 2024, its most recent audited financial year, generating R12.68m — almost 40% of its R31.9m revenue.
That was under the old deal with SuperSport, before ASA signed a three-year contract with the SABC in April, giving the national broadcaster the right to air all its events, including the Two Oceans Marathon and the national track and field championships.
CTM, having had no success with the investigative Competition Commission, has approached the Competition Tribunal directly to adjudicate the matter.
ASA ... provides no meaningful technical, organisational or commercial value to the Comrades Marathon
— Mark Leathers, Comrades Marathon Association chair
“The quality of the event and its elite field determines the value of the broadcast, and the production quality doesn’t then rest in our control,” said CTM race director Clark Gardner, who contracted a production company for the race broadcast last month.
“The event spends over R12m on its elite field and prize money, and we believe it should benefit from the broadcast accordingly. If we are to be one of the world’s best marathons, we need to compete in all aspects of the race, including the quality of the broadcast. Not having control over this is a big concern for us.”
ASA’s acting CEO, Terrence Magogodela, countered that CTM was a for-profit company and estimated it earned R100m from other commercial rights such as sponsorships, exhibition and entry fees.
He added CTM had submitted no financial statements to support its claim of losing money.
ASA submitted the same affidavit as a rebuttal of the CMA’s case lodged with the Competition Commission.
CMA chair Mark Leathers says in his affidavit: “Neither the CMA nor the Two Oceans Marathon NPC derives any commercial benefit from broadcast or related rights.”
He pointed out that since CMA members voted to exit KwaZulu-Natal Athletics (KZNA), the body had no affiliation with ASA. “There exists no contractual, regulatory or governance basis upon which ASA can assert authority over the CMA or the Comrades Marathon,” he said.
The CMA did not need ASA, he added. “The CMA maintains its own database of technical officials and is capable of independently organising and managing the event.
“Historically, even when officials were allocated by ASA and [KZNA], such officials did not consistently perform their functions, despite the CMA being billed for their costs. ASA accordingly provides no meaningful technical, organisational or commercial value to the Comrades Marathon.”
Gardner, likewise, said the CTM did not need ASA’s blessing — “Only World Athletics’ [blessing].”
Magogodela said the value ASA brought to CTM was its “status and standing” with World Athletics. “Without ASA’s support of the event, it would have very little intrinsic value. The suggestion that ASA does ‘nothing’ for the benefit of the CTM is patently false.”
For the Comrades, the CMA contracted T+W — producers of the award-winning documentary series Chasing the Sun — who will innovate with moving cameras and more than 20 fixed cameras at various points along the route, including the finish, for viewers.
The race will be streamed on the Comrades YouTube channel and broadcast on SABC2.
In his affidavit, Magogodela also criticised CTM for what he described as “clandestinely” broadcasting the event abroad.
Gardner told the Sunday Times that CTM provided the broadcast feed “at no fee”.
Magogodela also questioned the contract extension transferring control of CTM from Western Province Athletics to Faces, of which Gardner is CEO, until 2051. “If anything is anti-competitive or exclusionary, it is this reservation of rights relating to the event for such an inordinately long period of time,” he said.
Gardner replied: “This was required to invest many millions in the event to become an Abbott World Marathon Majors member.” The Cape Town Marathon is expected to become the eighth major soon.
Meanwhile, the disciplinary hearing into ASA president James Moloi — suspended for allegedly spending thousands on a federation credit card — has been put on hold, apparently to allow an investigation report to be finalised. The matter was supposed to have been completed last month.
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