StarTimes has acquired exclusive English- and Portuguese-language rights to the Uefa Europa League in sub-Saharan Africa, filling out its football portfolio for the next three seasons.
It is not thought StarTimes faced strong competition for the rights. Pay-television broadcaster SuperSport is happy with its midweek football offering of Uefa Champions League and Caf continental club competitions, while pay-television operator Kwesé has been crippled by financial problems.
StarTimes has benefitted greatly from Kwesé’s issues in recent months. StarTimes acquired English-language rights to the French Ligue 1 across sub-Saharan Africa for the next three seasons, 2018-19 to 2020-21, replacing Kwesé as broadcaster of the league.
Pay-television operator StarTimes now holds rights to the Europa League, the French Ligue 1, the German Bundesliga, the Ghanaian Premier League and the Uganda Premier League. It held exclusive rights to this year’s International Champions Cup