Zambian public-service broadcaster the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation has appealed for sponsorship in a bid to raise the funds needed to acquire rights for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations.
The corporation told the Times of Zambia that the tournament’s rights-holder, the Sportfive agency, had reduced the fee to K2bn (€305,000/$389,000) from the initial asking price of K3.2bn but that negotiations were continuing. The broadcaster said: “We have appealed to sponsors to come on board so that the Zambian people are able to watch the games on their national broadcaster.”
The corporation has joined public-service broadcasters in Botswana and Zimbabwe in calling for the African Union of Broadcasters, which represents free-to-air broadcasters across sub-Saharan Africa, to put pressure on Sportfive to reduce the fees.
Zambia will participate at the Cup of Nations, which will be co-hosted by Gabon and Equatorial Guinea and will begin on January 21.