Great news for rugby fans with DStv in South Africa
Canal+, the new owner of DStv, has confirmed that it has acquired the rights for the Men’s and Women’s Rugby World Cups.
The group said that it reached an agreement with World Rugby for the live broadcast rights of the 2027 Men’s Rugby World Cup and the 2029 Women’s Rugby World Cup.
The competitions will be shown on the SuperSport channels, available on DStv and GOtv in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The 2027 Rugby World Cup will feature a new 24-team format and a knockout phase, including a Round of 16. It will run from October 1 to November 13, 2027 and be hosted in Australia.
The Springboks will look to win their third World Cup on the bounce, having won in Japan in 2019 and France in 2023, and their fifth overall.
Other strong participants for the Webb Ellis Cup include New Zealand, England, Ireland, France and the return of Zimbabwe for the first time since the 1991 edition.
While the World Cup rights are usually a given for SuperSport, the new ownership of Canal+ has changed how content is brought to South Africa.
Canal+ bought Multichoice in a R50 billion deal last year, with rights acquisitions for the local market now centralised in Paris.
With this change, certain broadcasts that were previously staples on DStv are no longer available locally. This includes the Winter Olympics earlier this year and HBO’s A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.
While not showing the Rugby World Cup was highly unlikely, the French broadcaster has now allayed any fears for rugby fans.
In addition to World Cup rights, the group has also extended its broadcast partnership with Vodacom United Rugby Championship (URC).
The club rugby competition features four South African teams, the Bulls, Stormers, Lions, and Sharks, who compete against teams from Ireland, Scotland, Italy and Wales.
“Confirming these broadcast rights puts the seal on an incredible occasion for us as the CANAL+ Group, alongside the MultiChoice Group,” said David Mignot, Canal+ Africa CEO.
“This is another firm commitment that we are putting our subscribers first by ensuring they never miss out on the best sports content from the continent and from across the globe.”
On top of the rights announcement, the French broadcaster has also listed on the JSE. The secondary listing gives South African investors a direct, rand-denominated entrance into the broadcaster.
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