Sports industry professional Kelvin Watt says the days of being able to watch every major sports event on SuperSport are over.
Watt, who owns Nielsen Sports SA and Capitalize Media, was responding to SuperSport’s announcement that it would not broadcast the 2023 Indian Premier League having failed to reach an agreement with the rights holder Viacom 18.
SuperSport had televised the T20 franchise cricket tournament since the inaugural tournament in 2008.
“A few thoughts on @SuperSportTV losing out on the bid to broadcast and stream the 2023 IPL,” Watt wrote on Twitter.
“Firstly, I am astounded how ignorant consumers are that so many think SuperSport chose not to purchase the rights – they were outbid by a business with a global streaming service…
“So many consumers complain about the price of a @DStv subscription, the reality is that sports fans have no idea how spoilt they have been for the past 20 years by the extraordinary bouquet that @SuperSportTV delivers…
“The aggregated offering of @SuperSportTV has been the most sports fan friendly offering on the planet and we have all just got used to turning on our TV and having whatever we want to watch available…
“Reality is those days are over and as global streaming platforms start to outbid the pay TV broadcasters for rights in key North American and European markets, more streaming & broadcast rights for Africa will be bundled into those deals.”
Watt says South African sports fans will need to adapt in order to watch the events they want.
“Like the rest of the world we are going to have to make consumer choices. Which platforms will I subscribe to? Does my television technology support various platforms? Do I want to watch a particular event so badly I will take out another subscription on another platform?
“With regard to @IPL I would absolutely have watched a couple of hours most nights in April. I am a cricket fan and off the success of @SA20_League I was looking forward to the IPL. BUT to be honest I am not going to take out another subscription just for that…
“My bet is that there are far more IPL fans like me than those dedicated fans who will take out another subscription to get their fix.
“The IPL will lose eyeballs and relevance in South Africa! Probably not a big deal for them given the size of our market…
“So a great opportunity opens up for other sports rights holders to fill the gap in the April schedule, especially for midweek casual and relaxing viewing. From my perspective I hope they all move to channel 216 and delight in our @ss_schools offering…
“@SuperSportTV will need to make big choices going forward about what content it bids on and pays for.
“Anything they pay for needs to move the needle, theirs is a battle to hold on to subscribers and this will become more difficult as their subscription is bundled to @DStv…”
Watt believes DStv should offer its customers a sports-only package.
“The time for a standalone @SuperSportTV subscription is now! Just like @SA20_League has set the price point for quality T20 cricket at R75-100, making @ProteasMenCSA ticket pricing seem outrageous to the paying public who voted with their feet…
“@NetflixSA have set the price for general entertainment TV at R149. I would be happy to pay R900 for the current @SuperSportTV offering plus IPL, believe me it’s going to cost a whole lot more if we have to subscribe to multiple streaming platforms going forward…
“The @SuperSportTV bundle was EXTRAORDINARY and great VALUE whilst it lasted!
“Consumers are going to have to make lots of choices in the future – mostly ‘what am I prepared to pay for and what can I do without”
“Right now I have enough subscriptions and I can do without the IPL.”
