The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) will broadcast the Bundesliga for both the 2020/21 and 2021/22 seasons.
SABC Sport and Bundesliga International, a subsidiary of the DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga reached an agreement that includes a broadcast packag of 34 matches per season, with one live match broadcast per match week.
All the live matches will be preceded by a 30 minute build-up, with an expert panel of analysts to provide the in-depth preview analysis for the match.
Leading up to each match weekend, SABC Sport will showcase the “Bundesliga weekly preview” show, Thursday's on SABC 3 at 20:30 starting on the 17 September. This will be an hour packed show that will bring viewers closer to latest news from the league, team updates and looking at the upcoming fixtures.
Monday nights are billed as catchup nights of the Bundesliga, with the “highlights show” reviewing all the goals, post-match interviews and talking points from the weekend matches. This will air on SABC 3 at 22:30.
The Bundesliga is Germany's premier football competition and ranks among the top five football leagues in the world.
It is home to the current UEFA Champions League winners FC Bayern Münich and showcases world-class football talent with the likes of Bayern's Robert Lewandowski and Borussia Dortmund's Erling Haaland, as well as some of the best national team players from across Africa, including Salif Sané from FC Schalke 04, Diadie Samassékou from TSG Hoffenheim, and Edmond Tapsoba from Bayer 04 Leverkusen.
SABC Sport General Manager, Gary Rathbone, said, "There has been a significant amount of effort that has gone into making this deal happen, and we, as the SABC, are delighted to partner with the DFL in bringing football from one of the world's best leagues to viewers across the country. The Bundesliga is an attractive football proposition, which brings some of the game's most iconic football rivalries, a league displaying exquisite technique and an abundance of passion, from one of the world's great football nations. With this acquisition, SABC Sport is well on its way to delivering a diversified sport offering to South African sports fans. We understand the different needs of our audiences and commercial partners, and aims to bring more great sports content into their homes and onto their digital devices".
Robert Klein, Bundesliga International CEO, said: "With the SABC we have secured the premium Free-to-Air broadcaster in South Africa to screen the Bundesliga over the next two seasons. We are very excited to partner with the SABC to bring Germany's top league to South Africa's vibrant, passionate community of football fans. With consistently more goals than Europe's other top leagues, we know that viewers will be hooked by the exciting brand of football played in the Bundesliga and we are excited to use this partnership with the SABC to reach more South Africans than ever before."
Each of the thirty-four (34) Bundesliga matches will be live on SABC 3 and streamed live on the SABC Sports portal, sabcsportonline.co.za, kicking off the season with the live match between the current champions, FC Bayern München and FC Schalke 04 on Friday, 18 September 2020 at 20:30.
On top of the highly-anticipated television broadcasts, SABC will also provide extensive coverage of the Bundesliga via its far-reaching radio platforms in the form of updates and match reports.