Johannesburg – In a perplexing turn of events, SuperSport is moving its coverage of WWE over to its streaming service Showmax Pro.
SuperSport has a dedicated wrestling channel, which was started for WWE in 2017. WWE had previously been available to SA viewers on free-to-air e.tv. The move to the paid broadcaster would have come as a blow for local fans, and now with the move from SuperSport to Showmax Pro it will mean even fewer fans will have access.
However, SuperSport will keep broadcasting wrestling shows like Raw, SmackDown and NXT in addition to the top WWE live events.
The move, though surprising, is not unprecedented. In the USA, the WWE network has already moved over to NBCUniversal’s Peacock video streaming service. Similar strategies have also been employed in Australia, Indonesia and the Philippines.
In a statement Matt Drew, WWE senior vice president of international, said: ”Showmax Pro is the market leader and a perfect home for WWE content. By delivering our premium live events including WrestleMania, we believe this partnership will expand our audience and deliver even more to WWE fans throughout the region“.
Barry Dubovsky, MultiChoice Connected Video chief operating officer, said: “Adding WWE to the Showmax platform is an exciting development that we know our entertainment and sport-loving African subscribers are going to enjoy, making WWE even more accessible and affordable”.
IOL Sport