Dishonest MultiChoice Africa accused of “bullying tactics” on SABC

JOHANNESBURG -(MaraviPost)-The South Africa Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has lodged a complaint against Multichoice to that country’s trade commission for bullying tactics.

SABC has accused MultiChoice of anti-competitive behavior after inflating the price of rights to broadcast the Rugby World Cup.

Consequently, SABC and MultiChoice reached a deal for the public broadcaster to showcase 16 of 48 games during the global tournament – including the quarter-final, semifinal, and final matches.

Picture: Zaian via Wikimedia Commons

The SABC’s chief operating officer – Ian Plaatjes – said they have reported MultiChoice to the Competition Commission for what they’ve called “bullying tactics” over the deal.

Plaatjes says the late agreement has robbed the SABC of an opportunity to secure sponsorship.

“And then there’s still very rigid (conditions) as well. For example, we cannot put this on OVHD [OpenView HD], and as you would know our sports channel is on OVHD. So, it’s a huge, we believe, anti-competitive behavior.”

MultiChoice Africa is currently in court with the Malawi Communication Regulatory Authority (MACRA) over an unapproved DStv tariff hike.

MultiChoice Africa through its subsidiary MultiChoice Malawi (MCM) eventually suspended DStv services amid a huge debt of MK19 million, the company owes MACRA on operation fees.

Source: https://ewn.co.za/

Lloyd M’bwana

I’m a Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resource (LUANAR)’s Environmental Science graduate (Malawi) and UK’s ICM Journalism and Media studies scholar. Also University of Malawi (UNIMA) Library Science Scholar. I have been The Malawi Country Manager and duty editor for the Maravi Post since 2019. My duty editor’s job is to ensure that the news is covered properly, that it is delivered on time, and that it is created to the standards set out in the editorial guidelines of the Maravi Post.