Most of Mzansi won’t be able to watch Banyana Banyana at their maiden World Cup, but will be able to catch Bafana Bafana on TV.
And the Proteas will only be heard on radio mainly, with delayed and highlights packages of the Cricket World Cup going forward.
The SA Broadcasting Corporation said on Friday that they were unable to afford to bid for rights to the FIFA Women’s World Cup, but they have secured a deal for the Africa Cup of Nations.
Banyana Banyana kick off their campaign in France on Saturday evening (6pm SA time) against Spain in Le Harve.
SABC 3 will broadcast 24 matches at the Afcon, which includes all three Bafana group matches, as well as the semi-finals and final.
Bafana begin their tournament against Ivory Coast on 24 June (4.30pm), followed by Namibia (28 June) and Morocco (1 July).
In addition, the 10 African Language Stations – Umhlobo Wenene FM, Ukhozi FM, Ligwalagwala FM, Lesedi FM, Motsweding FM, Mughana Lonene, XKFM, Phalaphala FM, Thobela FM and Ikwekwezi FM – and Radio 2000 will have 32 live matches, including all the playoffs.
That means magazine programmes on SABC 3 such as Top Billing, Afternoon Express, Mela and Hectic on 3 won’t be broadcast on match-days.
“The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) regrets to announce that it will not be broadcasting the Fifa Women’s World Cup, which is set to take place in France. This is due to the fact that the public broadcaster was not in a financial position to bid for the rights,” the SABC said in a statement.
But with regards to the ICC Cricket World Cup, local fans won’t be able to watch any further live matches.
The public broadcaster listed their schedule for the rest of the tournament this week, having shown the SA-England and SA-Bangladesh matches live last week.
The next Proteas match, on Monday against the West Indies, starts at 11.30am. But SABC will have delayed coverage at 7.30pm on SABC 3, and a live broadcast on Radio 2000.
It is a similar arrangement for their remaining group fixtures against Afghanistan, New Zealand, Pakistan and Australia, while the Sri Lanka game will only be on radio.
One semi-final and the final will also just be on radio.
SABC AFCON SCHEDULE
June 21, 9.30pm: Egypt v Zimbabwe (live)
June 22, 7pm: Nigeria v Burundi (live)
June 23, 4.30pm: Morocco v Namibia (live)
June 24, 4.30pm: Ivory Coast v South Africa (live)
June 25, 11.30pm: Cameroon v Guinea-Bissau (delayed)
June 26, 11.30pm: Nigeria v Guinea (delayed)
June 27, 11.30pm: Senegal v Algeria (delayed)
June 28, 9.30pm: South Africa v Namibia (live)
June 28, 12am midnight: Morocco v Ivory Coast (delayed)
June 29, 12.30am: Cameroon v Ghana (delayed)
June 30, 10pm: Uganda v Egypt (delayed)
June 30, 12am midnight: Zimbabwe v DR Congo (delayed)
July 1, 5.30pm: South Africa v Morocco (live)
July 1, 11.30pm: Namibia v Ivory Coast (delayed)
July 2, 11.30pm: Benin v Cameroon (delayed)