The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has confirmed that it will not be broadcasting the upcoming Lions series and Springbok inbound tour matches.

In a statement released on Friday, the SABC revealed that the free-to-air broadcast of the Lions series will not be possible due to ‘rights restrictions imposed by SuperSport’.

‘The public should be aware that Springbok matches are defined as national sporting events by ICASA and that free-to-air broadcasters are mandated by the regulator to make these events available,’ the statement read.

‘SuperSport imposed restrictions on the SABC that would limit its broadcast of the inbound tour matches to SABC 1, 2 and 3, but only via terrestrial free-to-air television platforms. This means that the broadcast and streaming of games on SABC channels via other platforms such as Openview and via mobile and OTT, is prohibited by SuperSport.’

Despite launching the new SABC Sports channel, the public broadcaster says it cannot broadcast on it as it is ‘dependent on its simultaneous distribution via several different platforms, including DTT, OpenView and TelkomOne’.

The SABC further argued that SuperSport’s restrictions go against the spirit of the broadcasting regulations.

‘The SABC maintains that SuperSport-imposed sub-licensing restrictions are prejudicial to the SABC and its commercial partners as they limit the reach of the games to platforms decided upon by SuperSport,’ read its statement.

The full Lions Series 2021 is:

• Saturday 3 July: Emirates Lions v The British & Irish Lions (Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg) KO 18h00 (SAT) / 17h00 (BST)
• Wednesday 7 July: Cell C Sharks v The British & Irish Lions (Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg) KO 20h00 (SAT) / 19h00 (BST)
• Saturday 10 July: Vodacom Bulls v The British & Irish Lions (Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria) KO 18h00 (SAT) / 17h00 (BST)
• Wednesday 14 July: South Africa ‘A’ v The British & Irish Lions (Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town) KO 20h00 (SAT) / 19h00 (BST)
• Saturday 17 July: DHL Stormers v The British & Irish Lions (Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town) KO 18h00 (SAT) / 17h00 (BST)
• Saturday 24 July: Springboks v The British & Irish Lions (1^st Test, Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town) KO 18h00 (SAT) / 17h00 (BST)
• Saturday 31 July: Springboks v The British & Irish Lions (2^nd Test, FNB Stadium, Johannesburg) KO 18h00 (SAT) / 17h00 (BST)
• Saturday 7 Aug: Springboks v The British & Irish Lions (3^rd Test, FNB Stadium, Johannesburg) KO 18h00 (SAT) / 17h00 (BST)

Photo: David Rogers/Getty Images)