Sitting on the back of the press truck, following the lead athletes through the streets on a bright, warm Sunday morning, nothing seemed out of the ordinary at the Soweto Marathon last week.
Spectators turned out, volunteers kept the vibe going at refreshment stations and an elite field of quality athletes bashed it out at the front of a massive pack of social runners.
Similarly, the finish at FNB Stadium was festive, and the top athletes were well celebrated, with the winners receiving R250 000 cheques for their victories in one of South Africa’s most popular and prestigious road races.
What was not clearly evident for anyone attending the event, however, was the blackout being experienced by everyone else.
ALSO READ: Viewers shut out as Ethiopian athletes dominate Soweto Marathon
As the organisers admitted afterwards, people across the country had hoped to watch the race on TV, as they were accustomed to doing.
But watch they could not, courtesy of another round in the long-running battle between the Soweto Marathon Trust and Athletics South Africa regarding broadcast rights.
In the world of sport, broadcast rights can be translated into a single word: money.
So it is understandable that the Soweto Marathon Trust would want control of its own rights, but the reality is that’s just not the way the sport industry works, and if you want to take a cut of the pie, you have to play ball.
A win-win situation
Athletics South Africa relies on the popularity of events under its auspices to attract broadcasters, and the federation then sells rights to the coverage of the sport to the highest bidder.
In turn, organisers of races which are broadcast on TV are able to use this coverage to attract bigger sponsors.
When the system works, it’s win-win, and everybody walks away with a smile.
However, for whatever reason – almost certainly the offer of more money – the Soweto Marathon Trust didn’t want SuperSport to cover last week’s race. Instead, they wanted the SABC to cover it.
READ MORE: ‘It’s disturbing’: Soweto Marathon locked in ongoing broadcast battle
And while coverage by the national broadcaster would no doubt reach more people, the SABC does not currently hold the rights to the sport. Those rights belong to SuperSport.
So when the Soweto Marathon Trust tried to put its foot down, all it did was shut out its only broadcast option while tying the hands of Athletics South Africa, which is locked in a four-year contract with the pay-TV platform.
The only option
Until that contract comes to an end, nothing can be done, and if the Soweto Marathon is going to be back on TV next year (or even live streamed) organisers are just going to have to accept it for what it is.
Perhaps in future the sport will be restructured to involve stakehoders more directly in broadcast negotiations, and maybe big races do deserve a larger cut of the pie.
But rules are rules and contracts are contracts, and for the next few years, it’s SuperSport or nothing.
Next season, let’s hope the organisers of one of SA’s best races reconsider their options, rather than choosing nothing.