South African league signs bumper TV deal
Reuters - Friday 19 August 2011, 14:40
JOHANNESBURG - South Africa's Premier
Soccer League (PSL) on Friday signed a five-year television
rights deal worth more than two billion rand ($277.5 million)
with the country's satellite channel SuperSport, part of the
continent's biggest media company Naspers.
PSL chairman Irvin Khoza said the deal, which starts next
season, put the South African league in the Top 10 of worldwide
earns from the sale of television rights.
"The winning tender... offered a composite package that
includes internet and mobile rights," Khoza told a news
conference.
"We need to be clear that it wasn't just the money that
influenced us but [we] looked at the growth and enhancement of
our product on our current deal, where we moved from being 30th
ranked league in the world to the top 10."
The deal extended an existing five year deal for which
SuperSport paid 1.6 billion rand in 2007. This season, which
ends in May next year, is the last of the current agreement.
SuperSport won an acrimonious tussle with public broadcaster
SABC for the rights in 2007 but this time the cash-strapped
state broadcaster's spokesman Kaizer Kganyago said it did not
have the financial power to challenge for the rights.
SuperSport sub license matches to the SABC and broadcast an
average of seven live matches per week.