African pay-television broadcaster Kwesé TV has acquired exclusive rights to the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s 2017 Division I Men’s Basketball Championship, an event more commonly known as March Madness.
Kwesé TV will broadcast live action and highlights via the ESPN channel. It will mark the first time March Madness has been broadcast in Africa since 2013.
The event’s regional semi-finals began yesterday (Thursday), and the tournament is set to conclude on April 3.
Viewers in Rwanda, Zambia and Ghana can watch games through the Kwesé TV satellite-television service. Outside these markets, African viewers can stream live coverage of games on their mobile device via the Kwesé app.
The deal comes after telecommunications company Econet Media, which operates Kwesé TV, last year agreed a long-term partnership with international sports broadcaster ESPN that will result in a range of content being made available through the Kwesé sports service.