• SABC Sport to feature live coverage on all three days of Simola Hillclimb, from 3 to 5 September 2021
• One-hour highlights package to be screened post-event
• Simola Hillclimb will be the first local motorsport event screened by the national broadcaster in three decades
• Livestream of entire 2021 event will also be available on the Simola Hillclimb website and Facebook page, and via the Cars.co.za YouTube channel
KNYSNA, South Africa, 01 September 2021
In a ground-breaking partnership revealed today, the Simola Hillclimb and SABC announced that the national free-to-air broadcaster will be the event’s official free-to-air broadcast partner until 2024.
The partnership will mark the end of a three decade-long hiatus of local South African motorsport events receiving live coverage on SABC. The live coverage will include crossings on all three days of the event across SABC Sport’s various platforms, including its premier SABC3 Sports Arena show, Openview and DTT services. In addition, a one-hour highlights package will be screened in the weeks following the event.
The class finals and Top 10 Shootout of Classic Car Friday and King of the Hill will be shown in their entirety live on Friday 3 September on the SABC Sport Channel (SABC DTT/Openview Channel 124/TelkomOne) and Sunday 5 September on SABC3 Sports Arena from 14h00. Sports Arena will also feature several crossings on Saturday 4 September highlighting the day’s practice and qualifying rounds. These crossings will also be screened on the SABC Sport Channel (SABC DTT/Openview 124/TelkomOne).
Gary Rathbone, General Manager of SABC Sport, said: “Personally, I’m really excited about being able to bring local motorsport back to SABC TV after many years. Iconic events like the Simola Hillclimb are at the heart of the South African motorsport experience and will resonate strongly with ‘petrolheads’ across the country. It’s also part of the SABC’s drive to cover a wider range of South African sporting interests and be there as a broadcaster for all of our sports fans.”
“This is a game-changing partnership for the Simola Hillclimb as it will bring the event to an incredibly broad spectrum of the population who previously could not access our live stream feed due to bandwidth restrictions, or our highlights shows on subscription channels due to the cost,” said Ian Shrosbree, managing director of Knysna Speed Festival, the owner of the Simola Hillclimb.
“While the Simola Hillclimb is the premier motorsport lifestyle event in South Africa, we have always strived to make it available to as wide an audience as possible, and this coverage on SABC Sport will allow us to achieve that goal by introducing a new audience to our event and local motorsport in general,” Shrosbree said. “With COVID-19 restrictions not allowing any spectators at the Hillclimb, this coverage takes on even bigger significance in allowing us to bring the event to our fans and millions of new viewers who will hopefully also become fans.”
“It has been such a long time since we have seen local motorsport on SABC, therefore I can’t thank Gary and his team enough for partnering with us, and for their excitement in bringing our event to their audience. The fact that this agreement covers the next four events gives us a great platform to continue building the Simola Hillclimb into one of the world’s premier hillclimb events.”
The 2021 Simola Hillclimb takes place from 3 to 5 September 2021, starting with Classic Car Friday, followed by King of the Hill on the Saturday and Sunday. Due to COVID-19 regulations, no spectators are allowed.
However, to ensure that fans are able to remain part of the action, in addition to the SABC coverage the entire event will also be livestreamed via the website (www.simolahillclimb.com) and Facebook page (www.facebook.com/SimolaHillclimb).
Cars.co.za will also be hosting live coverage of the Simola Hillclimb on its popular YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/carscoza.
SABC SIMOLA HILLCLIMB BROADCAST INFORMATION
LIVE Broadcast
Event: Simola Hillclimb – Classic Car Friday
Date: Friday, 3 September 2021
Time: 14h00 – 15h30
Channels: SABC Sport Channel on DTT, Openview 124 and TelkomOne
LIVE Broadcast
Event: Simola Hillclimb – King of the Hill
Date: Sunday, 5 September 2021
Time: 14h00 – 15h30
Channels: SABC Sport Channel on DTT, Openview 124, TelkomOne, SABC 3 (Sport Arena)
Live crossings will be made to the event during SABC 3 Sport Arena on Saturday, 4 September 2021.
Highlights
• 1 x 54-minute highlights package to be broadcast 2 to 3 weeks after the event on SABC Sport Channel on DTT, Openview 124 and TelkomOne
• Highlights package to be broadcast late night on SABC 3 (time tbc)
For more information on the event visit: www.simolahillclimb.com #SimolaHillclimb
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Release compiled by Colin Mileman (082-897-6145 colin@milemanmedia.co.za)
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Media Enquiries: Robin Emslie
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