MEDIA STATEMENT
SABC TO BROADCAST THE 2018 FIFA WORLD CUP IN RUSSIA
“BRINGING RUSSIA TO MZANSI. KUZOBA LIT!”
Johannesburg, Thursday, 24 May 2018– The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) is pleased to announce that its broadcast plans for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™, taking place from the 14th of June to the 15th of July 2018, are well on track. Today marks exactly 20 days until the kick-off of the tournament in Russia. The public service broadcaster will provide audiences with a world-class broadcast experience of the greatest football spectacle in the world and celebrate the best of what the world’s footballers have to offer. 32 nations will compete to be crowned the greatest in the world and the SABC will cover the best 44 of the 64 matches live across the SABC radio stations, SABC 1 and its digital platforms. With the tagline ‘Bringing Russia to Mzansi. KuzobaLit!’, the SABC aims to create the (something is missing) vibe and the spirit of the world’s greatest sporting spectacle.
#KuzobaLit will be the theme that will be driving the SABC campaign for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The SABC invites its audiences and football loving supporters in South Africa to join the world in watching the greatest story unfolding on a global stage. Thomas Mlambo, Mpho Maboi, Andile Ncube, Lebo Motsoeli and Romy Titus will be the TV anchors during the tournament, who will be assisted by the best local football analysts in the likes of Siphiwe Mkhonza, Phumudzo Manenhze, Marc Lewis, and Duane Dell’Oca..
To enable the millions of SABC audiences to consume the matches in the language of their choice, SABC has lined 12 radio stations to broadcast the matches live. The SABC will for the first time be enabling the Khoi and San communities the opportunity to have the world cup matches broadcast in the! Xun and Khwe dialect on XK-FM. In line with the SABC key strategic pillar of delivering the best commentary in all 11 languages, the SABC radio talent will include a pool of sport commentators in the likes of Phalaphala FM’s Sydney Mashige, Motsweding FM’s Brian Letsogo, Ligwalagwala FM’s Sabelo Zulu, Umhlobo Wenene FM’s Thando Gqamane, Ukhozi FM’s Joe Hudla and RSG’s Johann Roussow,amongst the talent lined up for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia.
Sport at 10 and Soccerzone will broadcast an episode each on the 4th and 9th of Jul The productions will take a four week break, returning to the screens on the 16th and 18th of July 2018 respectively.
As the host channel of the tournament, SABC 1 has come up with several schedule changes affecting prime time slots. A transversal approach has been put in place to ensure that television viewers do not lose out on their favourite shows. The 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia starts on SABC 1 on Thursday, 14th of June – Sunday, the 15th of July 2018. The live coverage of the tournament will affect the SABC TV channels as follows.
SABC 1 SCHEDULE CHANGES:
SABC 1 will host the soccer tournament providing South African football fans an opportunity to watch the total of 44 matches live. Major changes will be made to the normal SABC 1 schedule between the 17h30 – 24h00 timeslots to accommodate the football spectacle.
Key SABC 1 titles such as Generations-The Legacy, Uzalo and Skeem Saam will be temporarily placed on sister channels SABC2 and 3 as follows:
– Skeem Saam at 18h30 (Mon – Fri) on SABC2
– Generations-The Legacy at 19h30 (Mon – Fri) on SABC3
– Uzalo at 20h30 (Mon – Wed) on SABC2
SABC 2 SCHEDULE CHANGES:
Mon- Fri at 18:00 7de Laan
Mon- Fri at 18:30 Skeem Sam
Mon- Fri at 19:00 Afrikaans Sitcom
Mon- Fri at 20:00 7de News (Afrikaans, Sesotho/Setswana/Sepedi bullentins)
Mon- Wed at 20:30 Uzalo
SABC 3 SCHEDULE CHANGES:
Generations the Legacy- 20:00
Ends
Media Enquiries
Kaizer Kganyago
SABC Spokesperson
082 306 8888
