The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has announced that there will be no live Betway Premiership matches this weekend.
The 2026-27 PSL season kicks off TODAY, 1 August, but the SABC is yet to reach an agreement with CANAL+.
In a statement released on Friday, the public broadcaster said the anticipation is to air Betway Premiership from 15 August.
This, however, only affect SABC TV, meaning fans could still follow the matches on SABC Radio stations until then.
Nonetheless, the two media houses – SABC and CANAL+ – have reached an agreement for the broadcast of the 2026 MTN8.
NO OPENING PSL FIXTURES ON SABC
“The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) regrets to inform its audiences that it will not broadcast the opening fixtures of the 2026/27 Betway Premiership season, scheduled for Saturday, 1 August 2026,” reads part of the statement.
“The negotiations regarding the PSL sub-licensing agreement remain ongoing, and while discussions with CANAL+ continue to progress positively, the agreement has not yet been finalised.
“The SABC remains committed to concluding the outstanding agreement as soon as possible and, subject to its successful conclusion, anticipates commencing Betway Premiership broadcasts from 15 August 2026.
“Despite this temporary delay, the SABC is delighted to announce the successful conclusion of its agreement with CANAL+ for the broadcast of the 2026 MTN8 tournament, ensuring that South African audiences will once again enjoy free-to-air coverage of one of the country’s premier football competitions.”
ORLANDO PIRATES BEGIN THEIR TITLE DEFENCE AT HOME
Meanwhile, all eyes will be on Orlando Pirates who enter this campaign as the defending league champions.
The Buccaneers will face Betway Premiership rookies at Orlando Amstel Arena on Saturday afternoon.
Kick-off is at 15:00.
As one of the busiest teams in the transfer market, Pirates expected to give a few of their new signings a run against Milford.