The SABC struck a deal with SuperSport to broadcast Premier Soccer League matches to save the jobs of the public broadcaster's employees, Writes Siyabonga Mkhwanazi in The Mercury 

If the SABC had sub-licensed all the PSL matches, including the league and cup competitions, from SuperSport, they would have been forced to retrench most of its staff in its production unit.

The SABC said it had also entered into this arrangement to avoid the prospect of millions of South Africans, with no access to the pay channel, facing a soccer blackout.

This was the submission made by the SABC's Group Chief Executive Officer, Dali Mpofu, to parliament's portfolio committee on communications on Wednesday.

Mpofu said that in terms of the arrangement with SuperSport, 110 games would be broadcast exclusively by the SABC. They would share the other 33 matches, which would include cup competitions and derbies.

He said contrary to popular belief, during last season the public broadcaster had televised 106 PSL games and not 75, as was reported, and that it had paid R35-million for the British games over three years, not R300-million.

ANC MP Kgotso Khumalo said the SABC must fight for exclusive radio rights because it had 18 million listeners, some of whom were blind and relied on radio for soccer.

Click here to read full story in The Mercury