SuperSport (South African broadcaster)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigation Jump to search
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this
article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be
challenged and removed.
Find sources: "SuperSport" South African broadcaster – news · newspapers · books · scholar ·
JSTOR (November 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)
SuperSport

Channel logo as of July 2012

Country South Africa
Broadcast area Sub-Saharan Africa
ESPN
Sky Sports
Affiliates
Sony TEN
Fox Sports Australia
Slogan "World of Champions"
Headquarters Johannesburg
Programming
 Afrikaans
 English
 Portuguese
Language(s)  Sotho
 Xhosa

Zulu


Picture format 1080i 16:9, 4:3 (HDTV)

Downscaled to 576i for the SDTV feed
Ownership
Owner MultiChoice
M-Net, M-Net Movies, Africa Magic, Zambezi Magic, Mzansi Magic,
Sister channels Maisha Magic, Pearl Magic, M-Net City, Channel O, 1Magic, Vuzu,
OneZed, Kyknet, Novela Magic, Abol TV, Akwaaba Magic
History
Launched 1988 as Sports segment on M-Net, 1995 as a single complete channel.
Former names M-Net SuperSport (1988–1994)
Links
Website supersport.com
Availability
 Terrestrial
M-Net M-Net (as a sports feed during important events)
30-36 (Rest Of Africa)
GOtv 130-136 (Ghana)
330-336 (Uganda)
CSN
Satellite
200-215, 236-246 (South Africa)
200-215 & 236-242 (Nigeria)
DStv
220-242 (Rest Of Africa)
601-603 & 620-636 (Angola & Mozambique)
Streaming media
SuperSport.com Live SuperSport Streaming online
DStv App Available to Subscribers
Showmax Pro Live SuperSport Streaming

SuperSport is a South Africa-based Pan-Africa group of television channels carried on

the DStv satellite & GOtv terrestrial platforms. It provides sports content in South Africa,
Nigeria and many other African countries.[1]

Formerly, SuperSport also had operations in Europe in the Scandinavian, Benelux, Polish
& Greek regions and had sports channels started by FilmNet, being owned by
MultiChoice at the time which have since been replaced. They also had operations in
Thailand, under the current name True Sport

The channel broadcasts most of the major sporting events and leagues of association
football, rugby, cricket, tennis, golf, motorsport, cycling, boxing, wrestling, hockey,
athletics. It was previously the world's biggest[clarification needed] broadcaster of live rugby and
cricket (having been overtaken by Sky Sports), and also the world's second
biggest[clarification needed] Premier League broadcaster, broadcasting matches live and, where
possible, in HD through the Premier League's Content Service Sr.[2]

Apart from its satellite channels, SuperSport also feeds content to M-Net, CSN and
occasionally to M-Net HD. As of September 2020, much the same way Sky Sports has
done, SuperSport started to run thematic channels with most major sports getting their
own channels.

Contents
 1 History
 2 List of channels
 o 2.1 SuperSport Blitz (200)
o 2.2 SuperSport Grandstand (201)
o 2.3 SuperSport PSL (202)
o 2.4 SuperSport Football Plus (202)
o 2.5 SuperSport Premier League (203)
o 2.6 SuperSport La Liga (204)
o 2.7 SuperSport Football (205)
o 2.8 SuperSport Variety 1 (206)
o 2.9 SuperSport Variety 2 (207)
o 2.10 SuperSport Variety 3 (208)
o 2.11 SuperSport Variety 4 (209)
o 2.12 SuperSport Action (210)
o 2.13 SuperSport Rugby (211)
o 2.14 SuperSport Cricket (212)
o 2.15 SuperSport Golf (213)
o 2.16 SuperSport Tennis (214)
o 2.17 SuperSport Motorsport (215)
o 2.18 SuperSport WWE (236)
o 2.19 SuperSport Maximo (241)
 3 Broadcasting rights
o 3.1 Multi-sport events
o 3.2 Cricket
 3.2.1 Domestic
 3.2.2 International
o 3.3 Football
 3.3.1 Domestic
 3.3.2 International
o 3.4 Rugby
o 3.5 Golf
o 3.6 Tennis
o 3.7 Motorsport
o 3.8 Netball
o 3.9 Cycling
o 3.10 Boxing
o 3.11 Professional Wrestling
o 3.12 MMA
 4 See also
 5 References
 6 External links

History
This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by
adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and
removed. (November 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)
In 1986, M-Net was launched as South Africa's first pay-television channel and, along
with Canal+, only the second outside of the United States. The channel immediately
showed its intention to include sport in its programming line-up, by securing exclusive
rights of an important Currie Cup match between Transvaal and Western Province for its
first ever broadcast. From 1988, sports coverage on M-Net ran under the banner of M-Net
SuperSport.

M-Net SuperSport expanded its range of coverage, including live overseas rugby, cricket,
golf, boxing and cycling. Following South Africa's readmission into international cricket,
SuperSport scored another marketing coup by securing exclusive rights to the 1992
Cricket World Cup.

When rugby turned professional in 1995, a deal was struck between the newly formed
SANZAR and Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. In South Africa, SuperSport was
awarded exclusive broadcasting rights of the Super 12 competition, as well as the Tri
Nations. Following this deal, rugby gradually ceased broadcasting on the SABC, while
SuperSport became a carrier of live rugby broadcasts.

At the same time, Naspers expanded its pay-television operations to a satellite carrier.
With the launch of DStv in 1995, SuperSport became a multi-channel network and an
independent brand, although it was still primarily associated with M-Net. The network
made full use of the satellite platform to expand its sports offering: For the Olympic
Games, six channels are generally used for live events.

In 2007, the SABC lost its exclusive rights to the local Premier Soccer League (PSL) to
SuperSport, in a deal worth R1.6 billion. The deal stipulated that some matches had to be
shared with the SABC. In August 2011, SuperSport renewed its contract with the PSL for
another five years.

Since 2011, SuperSport's association with M-Net began to fade, when M-Net split its
terrestrial feed from its DStv channel. DStv viewers can no longer watch sports events on
M-Net, although terrestrial subscribers still get feeds on the main channel, as well as the
Community Services Network (CSN).

A Premier Soccer League team bears the channel's name. SuperSport United F.C. was
originally known as Pretoria City but bought by M-Net in 1995 after which it was
renamed.

On August 8, 2020, SuperSport announced a gradual makeover/revamp of its channels,

meaning the numbering of the channels since the channel's commencement of expansion
in 2003 such as SuperSport 3 would be replaced with specific-sport TV channels which
they "enhances the sports viewers' experience" and "makes it easier to find and watch a
favorite league, competition or sport". The revamp would be operational from September
1, 2020 onwards.[3]

List of channels
 SuperSport Blitz HD (South Africa)> DStv Access
 SuperSport Blitz ROA HD (220, GOtv Ch 30)> DStv Access; GOtv Lite
 SuperSport Blitz Nigeria HD> DStv Yanga (Nigeria); GOtv Smallie (Nigeria)
 SuperSport Blitz ROA HD (P) (600)
 SuperSport Grandstand HD (South Africa)> DStv Premium
 SuperSport Grandstand ROA HD (221)
 SuperSport Grandstand Nigeria HD
 SuperSport Grandstand ROA HD (P) (621)
 SuperSport PSL HD (Southern Africa only)> DStv Compact
 SuperSport Football Plus HD (222) (Rest Of Africa)> DStv Compact Plus
 SuperSport Football Plus Nigeria HD (202)
 SuperSport Football Plus HD (P) (622) (Rest Of Africa
 SuperSport Premier League HD (South Africa)> DStv Compact
 SuperSport Premier League ROA HD (223)
 SuperSport Premier League Nigeria HD
 SuperSport Premier League ROA HD (P) (623)
 SuperSport LaLiga HD (South Africa)> DStv Family
 SuperSport LaLiga ROA HD (224, GOtv Ch 32)> DStv Family; GOtv Max
 SuperSport LaLiga Nigeria HD> DStv Confam (Nigeria); GOtv Max
 SuperSport LaLiga ROA HD (P) (624)
 SuperSport Football HD (South Africa)> DStv Family
 SuperSport Football ROA (225, GOtv Ch 31)> DStv Access; GOtv Plus
 SuperSport Football Nigeria> DStv Yanga; GOtv Jolli
 SuperSport Football ROA (P) (625)
 SuperSport Variety 1 HD (South Africa)> DStv Compact Plus
 SuperSport Variety 1 ROA HD (226)
 SuperSport Variety 1 Nigeria HD
 SuperSport Variety 1 ROA HD (P) (626)
 SuperSport Variety 2 HD (South Africa)> DStv Compact Plus
 SuperSport Variety 2 Nigeria HD> DStv Compact
 SuperSport Variety 2 ROA HD (227)> DStv Compact
 SuperSport Variety 2 ROA HD (P) (627)
 SuperSport Variety 3 HD (South Africa)> DStv Compact
 SuperSport Variety 3 Nigeria HD> DStv Confam
 SuperSport Variety 3 ROA HD (228)> DStv Family
 SuperSport Variety 3 ROA HD (P) (628)
 SuperSport Variety 4 HD (South Africa)> DStv Access
 SuperSport Variety 4 Nigeria> DStv Confam
 SuperSport Variety 4 ROA (229)> DStv Access
 SuperSport Variety 4 ROA (P) (629)
 SuperSport Action HD (South Africa)> DStv Compact Plus
 SuperSport Action Nigeria HD
 SuperSport Action ROA HD (230)
 SuperSport Action ROA HD (P) (630)
 SuperSport Rugby HD (South Africa)> DStv Premium
 SuperSport Rugby Nigeria
  SuperSport Rugby ROA (231)
 SuperSport Rugby ROA (P) (631)
 SuperSport Cricket HD (South Africa)> DStv Premium
 SuperSport Cricket Nigeria
 SuperSport Cricket ROA (232)
 SuperSport Cricket ROA (P) (632)
 SuperSport Golf HD (South Africa)> DStv Premium
 SuperSport Golf Nigeria
 SuperSport Golf ROA (233)
 SuperSport Golf ROA (P) (633)
 SuperSport Tennis HD (South Africa)> DStv Premium
 SuperSport Tennis Nigeria HD
 SuperSport Tennis ROA HD (234)
 SuperSport Tennis ROA HD (P) (634)
 SuperSport Motorsport HD (South Africa)> DStv Premium
 SuperSport Motorsport Nigeria HD
 SuperSport Motorsport ROA HD (235)
 SuperSport Motorsport ROA HD (P) (635)
 SuperSport Select 1 (Rest of Africa, only on GOtv, Ch 33)> GOtv Max
 SuperSport Select 2 (Rest of Africa, only on GOtv, Ch 34)> GOtv Value: GOtv
Jinja (Nigeria)
 SuperSport WWE HD (236/620 {Portuguese Viewers})// WWE Channel HD
(128)> DStv Family (South Africa), DStv Compact (Rest Of Africa)
 SuperSport Máximo 1 HD (241) (Portuguese Channel)> DStv Premium
 SuperSport Máximo 1 HD (P) (601) (Portuguese Channel. Rest of Africa only
 SuperSport Máximo 2 HD (242) (Portuguese Channel. Rest of Africa only)>
DStv Premium
 SuperSport Máximo 2 HD (P) (602) (Portuguese Channel. Rest of Africa only)
 SuperSport Máximo 360 (Portuguese Channel. Available in Angola, Cape Verde
and Mozambique only, DStv Ch 603, GOtv Ch 36)> GOtv Plus
 SuperSport CSN (490) (M-Net Terrestrial, South Africa only)
 SuperSport Play (243) (Southern Africa only)》DStv Free To View
 SuperSport OTT (244) (DStv App, South Africa only)》DStv Compact
 SuperSport OTT 1 (245) (DStv App, South Africa only)》DStv Premium
 SuperSport OTT 2 (246) (DStv App, South Africa only)》DStv Premium

SuperSport Blitz (200)

SuperSport Blitz is Africa's premier dedicated 24-hour sports news channel featuring the
latest news, features, announcements, highlights, previews & sporting events all around
the world. For some hours it relays Sky Sports News live from the UK.

SuperSport Grandstand (201)

SuperSport's top channel which features the best of the day's live content including top
events from tennis, rugby, cricket and live WWE pay-per-views. This channel is only
available to DStv Premium subscribers.

SuperSport PSL (202)

SuperSport PSL focuses mainly on domestic soccer matches in South Africa and other
African countries through live broadcasts, magazine shows and highlights. They now
show Premier Soccer League (PSL) matches every Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday,
Saturday and Sunday as part of their "Super Diski" shows. The channel also shows many
PSL themed news and talk shows under the "PSL TV" brand. These shows air at least
one new show nightly. They include Extra Time, Back Pages, Mzansi Legends, National
First Division Show, PSL News, Thursday Night Live With Robert Marawa, Love PSL
and various club magazine shows. All local matches have Zulu and Sesotho commentary.

As this channel is locally oriented (South Africa) , it is included on the Compact bouquet
for Southern African viewers.

SuperSport Football Plus (202)

SuperSport Football Plus is a 24-hour dedicated football/soccer channel, specifically

made for as the new home of UEFA competitions for ROA Viewers alongside featured
soccer documentaries, shows, news & matches. It also acts as a soccer overflow channel
broadcasting other live fixtures when other SuperSport channels are occupied with live
events.

This channel is available for Nigeria (Ch. 202) & The Rest of African (ROA》Ch.
222/622) audiences on the DStv Compact Plus package.

SuperSport Premier League (203)

SuperSport Premier League is a 24-hour football/soccer channel. SuperSport has the

exclusive rights of telecasting the Premier League, UEFA Competitions (For South
African Viewers) and other major football tournaments. It is available on the DStv
Compact package.

SuperSport La Liga (204)

Home of the Spanish La Liga while also showcasing overflow matches from the UEFA
Champions League and UEFA Europa League.

In South Africa, The channel is available to DStv Family customers.

SuperSport Football (205)

Primarily showcases Italy's Serie A while also broadcasting matches from the English
Premier League, UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League, and selected
international matches.

The channel is available for DStv Family and upper packages in South Africa

SuperSport Variety 1 (206)

Variety 1 focuses on cycling and swimming events while also functioning as an overflow
channel for soccer, golf, tennis, rugby and cricket events.

As the channel includes involvement with overflow content with rugby, tennis and other
Premium sports , the channel is available to DStv Compact Plus customers in South
Africa

SuperSport Variety 2 (207)

Variety 2 features gymnastics, hockey, sailing and squash events while also functioning
as an overflow channel for soccer matches.

The channel is available to DStv Compact Plus customers as part of the offering
SuperSport gives

SuperSport Variety 3 (208)

Variety 3 broadcasts athletics events, marathons, live WWE programming including pay-
per-view events, and also functions as an overflow for soccer matches.

Due to the overflow of some PSL and Premier League matches, the channel is available
to DStv Compact as part of a football offering channel as well.

SuperSport Variety 4 (209)

Variety 4 focuses on grassroot sports including varsity rugby, netball, BNL, MDC, SRC,
as well as WWE highlights.

SuperSport Action (210)

SuperSport Action broadcasts a range of extreme sports as well as major boxing matches,
UFC and EFC mixed martial arts programming and overflow content from rugby, soccer
and cricket.

Available to DStv Compact Plus customers

SuperSport Rugby (211)

SuperSport Rugby is the channel which focuses mainly on rugby. It shows all national
team rugby matches live, as well as all Super Rugby fixtures, the Currie Cup, Varsity
Rugby and certain top high school and club matches. Most matches have commentary in
both English and Afrikaans, with a growing number also featuring a Xhosa feed.[4]

As the world's largest broadcaster of live rugby, SuperSport's commentators read like a
"who's who" of South African rugby greats. Current lead commentators in English are
Matthew Pearce, Hugh Bladen, Gavin Cowley, Owen Nkumane and Paul Stubbs, while
their analyst pool includes Joel Stransky, Gcobani Bobo, Bobby Skinstad, Breyton
Paulse, Nick Mallett, Ashwin Willemse, Kobus Wiese, Victor Matfield, Jean de Villiers
and Naas Botha.

As a large broadcaster with expensive rights to the sport , the channel is exclusively on
DStv Premium.

SuperSport Cricket (212)

SuperSport Cricket primarily shows Cricket. All international cricket involving the South
African national cricket team, as well as certain domestic cricket, is shown on this
channel. The presentation and commentary team who cover South African home games
include Mark Nicholas, Mike Haysman, Pommie Mbangwa, Michael Holding, Shaun
Pollock, Makhaya Ntini, JP Duminy and guest pundits from the opposition team.

The channel is also available only on DStv Premium

SuperSport Golf (213)

SuperSport Golf is the home of the majors with coverage of the PGA tour and other
major golfing events including the Open , The Masters and many more.

This channel is available only on DStv Premium

SuperSport Tennis (214)

SuperSport Tennis is a 24-hour dedicated tennis channel showcasing live tennis from
Grand Slams to the ATP World Tour, WTA & other major tennis events.

Available to DStv Premium customers

SuperSport Motorsport (215)

SuperSport Motorsport features live and archive content from the world of motorsports
including Formula 1, MotoGP, Superbikes, Formula E, NASCAR and more.
Exclusive to DStv Premium

SuperSport WWE (236)

In addition to the WWE Network being made locally available, SuperSport's WWE
channel features live broadcasts of WWE's flagship programming of WWE Raw and
WWE SmackDown, along with additional WWE Network content including pay-per-
view events, WWE NXT, WWE 24, WWE Ride Along and more.

SuperSport Maximo (241)

SuperSport Maximo is the Portuguese-language channel broadcasting the same events

from the other SuperSport channels. It is available mainly in the countries of Lusophone
Africa, but also in other African countries including South Africa.

Broadcasting rights
This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by
adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and
removed. (November 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

Multi-sport events

 Olympic Games
 Winter Olympic Games
 Paralympic Games
 Commonwealth Games
 All Africa Games

Cricket

Domestic

 International cricket in South Africa

 1 Day Cup
 T20 Domestic Series

International

 ICC Cricket World Cup

 ICC Champions Trophy
 Pakistan Super League
 Indian Premier League
 Big Bash League (South Africa only)
 Women's Big Bash League (South Africa only)
  Super Smash
 Champions League Twenty20
 International cricket in Australia (South Africa only)
 International cricket in Bangladesh
 International cricket in England
 International cricket in India
 International cricket in New Zealand
 International cricket in Pakistan
 International cricket in Sri Lanka
 International cricket in West Indies
 International cricket in Zimbabwe

Football

Domestic

 DStv Premiership
 Nedbank Cup
 Telkom Knockout
 MTN 8
 Telkom Charity Cup
 National First Division
 DStv Diski Challenge
 Varsity Cup

International

 FIFA World Cup

 UEFA European Championship
 UEFA Champions League
 UEFA Europa League (South Africa only as of the 2018–19 season until 2020-21
season. Will be available on both SA & ROA regions from 2021-22 season)
 UEFA Europa Conference League
 UEFA Youth League
 UEFA Super Cup
 UEFA Nations League
 Premier League
 Emirates FA Cup
 FA Community Shield
 EFL Carabao Cup
 Sky Bet EFL Championship
 La Liga Santander
 La Liga Smartbank
 Serie A TIM
 COSAFA Senior Challenge Cup
 MTN FAZ Super Division (Rest of Africa only)
  BetKing Ethiopian Premier League

Rugby

 Rugby World Cup

 Super Rugby
 The Rugby Championship
 Six Nations Championship
 Currie Cup
 Varsity Cup
 French Top 14
 Gallagher Premiership Rugby (only in South Africa)
 European Champions Cup

Golf

 The Masters
 U.S Open
 The Open Championship
 PGA Championship
 PGA Tour
 European Tour
 Sunshine Tour
 Nedbank Golf Challenge

Tennis

 Wimbledon
 Roland Garros
 Australian Open
 US Open
 ATP World Tour
 WTA Tour
 International Premier Tennis League

Motorsport

 Formula One
 MotoGP
 Superbike World Championship
 S.A. National Rally Championship
 NASCAR
 V8 Supercars
 GT Asia Series
 TCR Asia Series
 FIA European Truck Racing Championship
  FIA World Rallycross Championship
 FIA Cross-Country Rally World Cup
 TCR International Series

Netball

 Netball World Cup

Cycling

 Giro d'Italia ("Only in South Africa")

 Tour de France
 Vuelta a España

Boxing

 HBO World Championship Boxing

 Premier Boxing Champions

Professional Wrestling

 WWE

MMA

 UFC

As of 17 January 2019 started broadcasting UFC pay-per-view events live .

 EFC

It also earned the rights for EFC events starting from March, 2019.

See also
 M-Net
 Filmnet
 K-T.V.

References
1.

 "Ten Sports, Supersport sign multi-year digital content partnership". Archived from
the original on 12 October 2010. Retrieved 4 September 2010.
  "SuperSport wins South African contracts". Retrieved 4 September 2010.
  AsuquoE (8 August 2020). "SuperSport channels are getting a new makeover to
give your favourite sport a dedicated home of its own". TalkMedia Africa. Retrieved 11
August 2020.
 Xhosa rugby commentary not kicked into touch, The Sowetan, 23 July 2014