Tag Archives: TelkomONE

SABC to carry NBA basketball games

The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has acquired television broadcast rights to National Basketball Association (NBA) games.

Victor Williams

Under the multi-year agreement, SABC Sport will air more than 35 games throughout the season, including a Christmas Day game, NBA All-Star Saturday Night, Conference Finals and The Finals as well as hosting weekly magazine show NBA Action, which covers the league’s news and highlights.

The games will be broadcast live or delayed on SABC1 and SABC Sport on the DTT, TelkomOne and Openview platforms.

Gary Rathbone, SABC’s sport general manager, said: “SABC sport is incredibly thrilled to add one of the world’s most exciting and respected leagues to its live sports offering, as we know that there is a sports audience which loves the game of basketball in Mzansi. In bringing this great global sporting spectacle to our viewers, the SABC will also be setting out to inspire and entertain a whole new generation of basketball fans all over the country. Exciting times for Mzansi sports fans, Fo’ Sho.”

Victor Williams, NBA Africa’s CEO, said: “We are thrilled to once again partner with SABC, beginning with our milestone 75th anniversary season. Through this partnership we look forward to bringing the excitement of the NBA to more of our passionate fans in South Africa as part of our continued commitment to making basketball more accessible across the continent.”

The first live broadcast will begin with a pre-game live studio presentation at 22.30 on Saturday October 30 at 23.00 SAST, followed by the inaugural live broadcast of the 75th anniversary season, where the Washington Wizards will host the Boston Celtics.

The live or delayed broadcasts will start between 20.00 and midnight on the same Saturday on SABC1 and SABC Sport.

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SABC launches sports channel

The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has launched SABC Sports Channel to provide “compelling and exciting” local and international sporting content.

Gary Rathbone

SABC Sport Channel is available on eMedia’s free-to-air satellite platform OpenView 124, TelkomONE’s mobile platform and the SABC’s digital terrestrial television (DTT) service.

The move comes after the network’s soft launch via the same platforms in April. The channel also has a YouTube presence.

Gary Rathbone, general manager of SABC Sport, said the South African public broadcaster had always been the ultimate sporting home for the country’s sports fans.

“Through the events we showcase on the SABC platforms, we want to inspire up-and-coming athletes in the various sporting disciplines to reach for their dreams,” Rathbone said.

“Our newly launched sports channel on the DTT, OpenView and TelkomOne platforms, must also be commended. Since the channel became operational in April this year, its audience figures have been positive, with the latest TAMS figure showing a total reach of over two million, a 5% share of the national television market.

“On OpenView alone, the channel has established itself amongst the top 10 on the bouquet, with a total reach of over 1.4 million, representing a 24% share of the OpenView market. This is really positive start for an exciting new Sport Channel that South Africans will be able to access without needing to pay a subscription.”

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Telkom readies streaming platform

South African telecommunications company Telkom will launch a streaming platform called TelkomONE next month.

Wanda Mkhize

The service will host a variety of South African content, from music and education titles to TV series. Customers will be able to choose from daily, weekly and monthly subscription packages.

Wanda Mkhize of Telkom’s smart home and content division said: “TelkomONE is a proudly local and South African service and naturally we want to host and showcase outstanding content by producers from our very own shores, including filmmakers, videographers, writers and directors.”

Mkhize added that the telco was looking for fresh creators to contribute content in the following genres: comedy, lifestyle and ‘mobivela’ – telenovelas for mobile.

“We have created a competition under the hashtag #OpenUpTheIndustry where such content producers wishing to be noticed can enter for an amazing opportunity to not only win cash prizes to assist them with their content production, but to also have their final body of work featured on our platform for viewing by our audience.

“#OpenUpTheIndustry is open to both amateur and professional content producers. The submissions will be available on TelkomONE after curation for South Africans to view.”

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