THE SABC has appealed to Safa to come back to the negotiating table for the sake of soccer fans.
This comes after Safa rejected the public broadcaster’s offer when they negotiated a new contract to air soccer matches.
Yesterday, the SABC held a media briefing in Auckland Park, Joburg, where it said it had offered Safa R10 million.
Acting group executive Renee Williams and COO Chris Maroleng said negotiations were still continuing and that they were optimistic.
“Any new contract goes through the evaluation criteria to determine how much it will cost us and thereafter present a fair commercial value.
“This is to ensure that the SABC reaches break-even point,” said Maroleng.
Williams said the SABC had been experiencing financial problems.
“A mutual benefit partnership is broad and there’s much more we can offer without cash,” she said.
Speaking about reports that a crew from the public broadcaster was turned away from FNB Stadium on Saturday, Maroleng said the move went against a survival clause that both parties had to stick to.
He said the match fell under the previous contract with Safa, which included the broadcast of Bafana Bafana’s match against the Seychelles today.
“This past weekend, we sent our outside broadcast team, which was denied access.
“We did this in good faith because we believe that this survival clause had obligations which required all parties to fulfil, and that is to have access to the stadium for us to broadcast the match of Bafana Bafana,” said Maroleng.
Meanwhile, the ANC has called on Safa and the SABC to ensure that South Africans are able to watch Bafana Bafana matches.
