Pan-African pay-television operator StarTimes has acquired exclusive rights in sub-Saharan Africa for national team competitions operated by the International Basketball Federation (Fiba).
The five-year deal runs from 2017 to 2021 and includes the 2019 Basketball World Cup in China.
StarTimes will hold exclusive free and pay-transmission rights across all territories, although French-language pay-television rights in Francophone countries will be held on a non-exclusive basis. The deal also excludes free-to-air rights in Angola.
Tournaments covered by the deal include the 2019 World Cup and its qualifiers; AfroBasket 2017 and Women’s AfroBasket 2017; Tokyo 2020 Olympic qualifying tournaments for men and women; the 2018 Women’s Basketball World Cup; all remaining Fiba continental cups in 2017 (AmeriCup, Asia Cup, EuroBasket, Women’s AmeriCup and Women’s Asia Cup); all continental cups and their qualifiers in 2021; all women’s continental cups in 2019 and 2021; the men’s and women’s U19 World Cups in 2019 and 2021; and the U17 World Cups for men and women in 2018 and 2020.
The agreement covers the following countries and territories: Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Republic of Congo-Brazzaville, Democratic Republic of Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius (excluding French language), Mayotte (excluding French language), Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Reunion (excluding French language), Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia (including Somaliland), Socotra, South Africa, South Sudan, St. Helena and Ascension, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania (United Republic of), Togo, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Fiba secretary general Patrick Baumann said: “Thanks to this partnership with StarTimes, the extent of our reach across sub-Saharan African (countries) is bigger than ever before and we can cater to the millions of enthusiastic basketball fans. Having the very best of our national team competitions broadcast in the region will go a long way towards growing our sport's popularity and participation."
The agreement was brokered by Fiba Media, the strategic partnership between Fiba and digital media company Perform.