There exists friction between KPL, Kenya’s topflight, also known as “Sportpesa Premier League”, and their broadcast partner Supersport, Soka25east.com can reveal.
The pay television giants last weekend switched off three matches they had earlier listed for live transmission at the eleventh – leaving fans begging for answers, but none were forthcoming.
According to a top manager at Superport who sought anonymity, their relationship with KPL is frosty because they feel “disrespected.”
They are frustrated their efforts to try sort out a sticky issue of release of fixtures, which is affecting their operations, with the league managers has not borne fruits with their emails going un-replied.
He laments piecemeal and late release of fixtures, which affects their logistical arrangements like transport of equipment, hotel bookings and flight bookings for production crew.
Supersport are also not happy that KPL is giving their title sponsor Sportpesa, Kenya’s biggest betting firm, more mileage over them.
For example, Superport wanted the recent Sportpesa sponsored trip to Hull City by a select players from the KPL cancelled, to allow for early release of fixtures for the 2017 season, a request that was not granted.
They were equally unimpressed with KPL clubs’ Chief Executive Officers fact finding mission to Bundesliga, Germany at a time they needed to iron out the arising issues at home.
Another contentious issue is the expansion of the topflight from 16 teams to 18 teams for the current season.
Supersport holds they have not been fully consulted as their running agreement with KPL involves only 16 teams.
KPL lost a fierce battle to retain the status quo (16 teams) to the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) whose quest to expand the league carried the day at Kenya’s Sports Disputes Tribunal.
However, according to a top KPL manager (name withheld) the claims by Supersport are uncalled for, as they feel as an organization they have an obligation to all their partners and not just one.
About the trip to Hull, the manager reads dishonesty from Superport as one of their top managers (name withheld) also made the trip even though he dodged cameras while in England.
Supersport has vowed not to resume live matches till the issues are amicably resolved. KPL on the other hand wants to directly engage Supersport head office in South Africa as they cannot apprehend the “breach of contract.”
The new season has seen two magazine shows, mainly exposing KPL, namely “Playback” and “Off the Press” pulled off air by Supersport in a cost cutting measure.
The firms future in the Kenyan market has a remained a subject of widespread speculation in the face of cut-throat competition from new entrants like “Bamba Sports”, a free to air channel, which recently acquired second tier league broadcast rights.
Bamba has also clinched exclusive broadcast rights of Kenya’s two international friendlies against Uganda and DRC this week.
