Multichoice objects to plan, saying this would virtually destroy its business and hand over the market to international internet streaming giants such as NetflixThe Independent Communications Authority of SA is set to introduce a raft of measures to open up the pay-TV market, despite objections by MultiChoice, the dominant pay-TV operator in the country.
“These are the most popular competitions in SA … these sports rights are held by MultiChoice and this is considered to be its competitive advantage”, Icasa said. Icasa pointed out that in 2015 e.tv lost the rights to broadcast the Uefa Champions League, citing the prohibitive cost. In 2007, the SABC lost its exclusive rights to the PSL to SuperSport, in a deal worth R1.6bn.The current agreement between MultiChoice and the PSL runs for five years, through to the 2023/2024 season. The English Premier League agreement has been renewed until 2022.
In its submission to Icasa in 2018, MultiChoice said the introduction of further regulations would virtually destroy the company’s business, and hand the SA market to online streaming giants such as Netflix. It said it had lost more than 100,000 DStv premium subscribers in the previous financial year due to unregulated competition from such services.