TVMS acquires free-to-air Euro 2020 rights in sub-Saharan Africa

The TV Media Sport agency has acquired a package of exclusive free-to-air rights to Euro 2020 across sub-Saharan Africa, marking the third consecutive time it has acquired the rights to the European Championships.

The rights cover more than 40 territories across Africa and include both Anglophone and Francophone commentaries.

A total of 15 live matches are included in the agreement, along with rights to a daily highlights programme.

TVMS’ Euro 2016 rights in sub-Saharan Africa encompassed just 12 matches.

Pay-television rights to Euro 2020 are already held across sub-Saharan Africa by rivals SuperSport and StarTimes.

SuperSport originally agreed a deal which encompassed the non-exclusive English-language pay-television rights to Euro 2020, European Qualifiers from 2018-19 to 2021-22, and the Nations League competitions in 2018-19 and 2020-21.

Those rights were set to be shared with now-defunct pay-television broadcaster Kwesé before its parent company, telco Econet, closed it down in 2018. Chinese-owned broadcaster StarTimes then acquired Kwesé’s package of rights in a cut-price deal in August 2019.

StarTimes’ rights also include non-exclusive English-language pay-television rights across sub-Saharan Africa (excluding South Africa) and exclusive free-to-air rights across the region (also excluding South Africa).