New kid on the block in the streaming space, SportyTV, has secured the 2026 Fifa World Cup broadcasting rights on a pay TV basis in South Africa.
“SportyTV has secured a historic and groundbreaking agreement with Fifa to broadcast all 104 matches of the Fifa World Cup 2026™ in South Africa on a pay TV basis, a landmark deal that positions the platform at the forefront of sports media innovation on the continent," SportyTV said on Monday.
The streaming platform secures the broadcasting rights of this winter’s global showpiece a year after launching in South Africa. SportyTV has apps for Android and iOS, as well as support for major TV brands. Currently, accessing SportyTV requires creating a SportyBet account.
The streaming site also boasts a channel on Openview, which it launched in 2025. However, Openview is a free-to-air satellite TV platform, and SportyTV has secured the pay TV rights to the Fifa World Cup.
SportyTV securing World Cup rights in South Africa highlights a significant shift in the domestic pay TV space, signalling that SuperSport and its parent company, MultiChoice, which was sold to the French company Canal+ last September, are losing their premium sports content monopoly.
Canal+ has already started shutting down several MultiChoice offerings such as Showmax and Dstv Delicious Festival, among others.
SportyTV didn’t disclose pricing for the pay TV package, while its media official Nadine Jarrard wasn’t immediately available for comment.
Meanwhile, the SABC holds local free-to-air broadcast rights for the upcoming World Cup. Through a partnership with Hollywoodbets and rights holder New World TV, SABC will broadcast 34 matches, including all Bafana Bafana games, across SABC1, SABC3, SABC Sport, and SABC Plus.
Sowetan
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