South African public-service broadcaster the SABC is set to launch a sixth television channel, with reports stating that it is likely to be a dedicated sports platform.
The Channel24.co.za website said SABC chairperson Mbulaheni Obert Maguvhe told the South African parliament that the broadcaster has secured R1.5bn (€109.4m/$120.5m) to start the new channel.
Maguvhe said: “(SABC chief operating officer) Hlaudi (Motsoeneng) and his team have secured R1.5bn with which we are going to establish a new TV channel. That will be the sixth channel.”
SABC currently operates the SABC1, SABC2, SABC3, SABC News and SABC Encore channels. Channel24 said the creation of SABC Sport would bring to an end schedule disruption across the broadcaster’s three main channels when it seeks to accommodate sport rights.
“Some of the reason why we lose revenue is because there's so many sports of national interest and projects of national interest that we disrupt our schedule,” Motsoeneng said. “When you disrupt the schedule this means you lose revenue, because you need to pay back the money you have already received from advertisers and sponsors – there are some penalties.”