Cricket South Africa will reveal the broadcast partners for the inaugural T20 Global League on Thursday, pending final discussions with SuperSport. Though unconfirmed at the moment, Africa's biggest broadcaster are expected to air the tournament, albeit by paying reduced rights fees. The exact figures will be made public when the deal is sealed.
With less than a month to go before the event begins on November 3, and in the wake of Haroon Lorgat's departure from CSA, the absence of a broadcast deal has dogged the organisation. Lorgat, who told media last month that he was "waiting for the right time" to sign a broadcast partner, was unable to confirm either a South African or Indian television company and is understood to have rejected a bid from SuperSport, which he considered too little.
But with no other viable broadcaster on the continent and a lack of interest from Indian companies, CSA has been forced to go back to SuperSport and negotiate a new deal. Given the tight timeframe before the tournament's start, SuperSport will likely incur extra costs, leading to a smaller deal. An Indian broadcaster has yet to be confirmed.
However, CSA is exploring the option of making some of the tournament available on free-to-air television in South Africa, via the public broadcaster, SABC. CSA acting CEO Thabang Moroe told ESPNcricinfo that once the SuperSport deal had been signed, CSA would look at how best it could accommodate the SABC. While the SABC does not broadcast domestic cricket, international cricket played in South Africa is shown on the network. For the majority of South Africans, that it the only way to watch cricket on television as SuperSport is a paid-for service.