‘It’s disturbing’: Soweto Marathon locked in ongoing broadcast battle

Organisers said they could not reveal any details around the controversial decision not to broadcast the Soweto Marathon on Sunday, which resulted in a near blackout of live media coverage at one of South Africa’s most popular mass participation sports events.

While SuperSport holds the rights to broadcast the race, as part of a broader deal with Athletics South Africa (ASA) which includes all road running events sanctioned by the national federation, organisers had reportedly wanted the SABC to televise the race in order to take a cut of the pie – a demand which was turned down by ASA, in line with its SuperSport contract.

As such, the race – which attracted nearly 20 000 entries – was not broadcast on television or streamed live on any platform.

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“We are still in discussions regarding the broadcast issue, which has been disturbing,” Soweto Marathon Trust chairman Sello Khunou said after the 27th edition of the annual race.

“Many people around the country wanted to watch the race and we thought we would have reached some sort of agreement. So it is disappointing, but until we have signed on the dotted line, we won’t be able to give a full report on what’s happening.”

No title sponsor

Despite hosting a huge field of social runners, with an attractive route that includes historical national monuments, buildings and sites, the Soweto Marathon did not have a title sponsor this year, and it was believed a lack of live coverage could detract from the event’s potential value.

Khunou remained confident about the future of the race, however, insisting they would target record numbers over the next few years.

“We are very pleased with the success of this event and we will now aim for greater heights by setting new challenges for ourselves,” he said.