LaLiga pens latest sub-Saharan African renewal in non-exclusive Canal Plus deal

LaLiga, the governing body of Spanish football’s top two divisions, has agreed another rights deal in sub-Saharan Africa after signing a four-season extension with the African arm of French-language pay-television broadcaster Canal Plus.

Canal Plus’ rights are not exclusive as French-language rights will be shared with rival pay-television broadcaster StarTimes across sub-Saharan Africa, Madagascar and Mauritius.

Both the Canal Plus and StarTimes deals run for four seasons between 2020-21 and 2023-24.

In terms of rights inventory, Canal Plus is understood to have retained the same number of matches to its previous deal, which includes all 380 top-flight matches as well as the promotion play-offs from the second-tier Segunda División. The primary difference between the two cycles is its loss of exclusivity in the region.

Canal Plus previously held exclusivity for the property in French-speaking sub-Saharan Africa between the 2015-16 and 2019-20 seasons.

LaLiga has also agreed an English-language renewal with SuperSport, the sports arm of dominant sub-Saharan pay-television broadcaster Multichoice.

LaLiga and its international rights distribution agency Mediapro are thought to be close to completing their rights cycle in the region. SportBusiness understands that another announcement will be made in the coming days with regards to the final broadcast partner.

The rights-holder issued a rights tender in the region over a year ago with bidders were invited to submit offers by July 2, 2019.

Its previous deals in the region expired after the 2019-20 season and were all agreed for five seasons. Digital terrestrial broadcaster Zap held the Portugese-language rights in Angola, and Tanzanian free-to-air broadcaster Azam held some non-exclusive rights in its domestic market.