MultiChoice was dealt a blow on Monday when the Competition Tribunal granted interim relief to eMedia to lift all restrictions to broadcast sporting events of national interest (soccer, rugby and cricket) on its Openview channels, effective immediately.
The tribunal has granted eMedia interim relief pending the final determination of its complaint to the commission, or for a period of six months, whichever occurs first.
MultiChoice owns SuperSport
In October 2023, eMedia lodged a complaint with the Competition Commission and filed papers before the Competition Tribunal regarding a provision in the sub-licensing agreements concluded between MultiChoice, which owns SuperSport, and the SABC that prevents the SABC from utilising third-party-owned platforms to transmit SABC channels, which broadcast national sporting events.
“We are satisfied that our perseverance to stop MultiChoice’s anti-competitive behaviour has paid off.
“More so, we are delighted that the interest of the hundreds of thousands of viewers that rely on Openview for purposes of accessing the SABC’s Channels and who were precluded from viewing the Rugby and Cricket World Cup matches because of the restriction imposed by SuperSport has been heard,” eMedia said in a statement.
The Tribunal said the reasons for its decision will be issued in due course.
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