Sub-Saharan Africa

Pay-television broadcaster Fox Sports has retained rights in Australia for Test matches and tournaments operated by Sanzar, rugby union’s governing body in South Africa, New Zealand and Australia.

State-owned broadcaster Somali National Television (SNTV) is to broadcast live coverage of a football match in the country for the first time.

UK racecourse owner and operator Arena Racing Company has agreed a deal to distribute audio-visual coverage of South African horse racing to betting shops in the UK and Ireland.

Pay-television broadcaster SuperSport has renewed its deal for MotoGP rights across sub-Saharan Africa, paying a significant increase to beat competition from rival StarTimes.

Pay-television broadcaster StarTimes has paid what is considered to be a high fee to secure rights to the Coppa Italia in sub-Saharan Africa.

TV Media Sport added football’s European Championship to its free-to-air portfolio in sub-Saharan Africa, securing a buyout deal with Uefa.

Fox Sports Africa has restarted its coverage of Major League Soccer in sub-Saharan Africa after year-long negotiations with IMG and Soccer United Marketing.

Pay-television operator StarTimes, which broadcasts in sub-Saharan Africa, has acquired rights to the Fifa Club World Cup and Italian club football competitions the Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana.

John Manning, research anaylst for SportBusiness Intelligence examines Rugby World Cup television audiences in the major rugby union markets.

Pay-television broadcaster Fox Sports Africa has acquired rights for North America’s Major League Soccer in sub-Saharan Africa.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship last month signed off its first English-language broadcast deal in sub-Saharan Africa, plugging a large gap in its global footprint.

UK pay-television broadcaster Sky has agreed a five-year extension to its rights contract with Sanzar, the umbrella body for the Australian, New Zealand and South African rugby unions.

The Football Kenya Federation has threatened to cancel its advisory deal with MP & Silva, the latest event in the ongoing dispute between the two parties.

SuperSport has renewed its deal for the Football Association of Zambia’s top-tier domestic club competitions until 2020.

Sanzar, which operates the Super Rugby franchise-based rugby union competition in South Africa, New Zealand and Australia, has finalised a new rights deal, according to the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper.

France’s Ligue 1 has earned an increase of 20 to 25 per cent in the value of its media rights in sub-Saharan Africa following deals agreed in recent weeks.