MultiChoice wins rugby TV rights dispute
October 11, 2023
By Chris Forrester
The legal application by South Africa’s eMedia Holdings against MultiChoice and arguing for access to TV coverage of the Rugby World Cup was thrown out by the Johannesburg High Court on October 10th.
Technically, the legal move was “struck out” and not heard by the court which upset eMedia’s lawyers.
The judge in the case recognised that the matter was urgent – and with the final games now taking place – but declined to hear arguments.
“Ultimately, the merits of this case will have to be dealt with, particularly as the same blackout applies to the Cricket World Cup. We are considering our options, going forward,” said eMedia’s head of legal and business affairs Philippa Rafferty.
To add insult to their injury, the judge ruled that eMedia had to pay MultiChoice and SuperSport’s legal costs including the fees of three counsel.
MultiChoice issued a statement saying: “The effect of the high court’s decision is that the position remains that the Springbok matches at the Rugby World Cup will continue to be broadcast only on SuperSport and the SABC. The matches are not broadcast via Openview because eMedia has at no stage purchased or even attempted to purchase the rights concerned.”