Chinese Pay television giants, StarTimes are keenly angling at prospects of taking over as Kenyan premier league broadcast sponsors www.soka25east.com can exclusively reveal.
Startimes have been keenly watching the dynamics in the country especially now that Bamba Sport contract with Kpl is scheduled to expire in November 2017.Bamba Sport took over the reins after Supersport terminated their contract in April.
“We are very keen on getting the Kenyan premier League broadcast rights as it is a product that has a huge following in Kenya and the KPL office has also shown a lot of enthusiasm with our intentions”
“We have been following keenly since Supersport pulled away and we belive in all negotiations go well we have the capacity to deliver an even better product that will clearly ensure mutual benefit for all the stakeholders” a very senior Startimes boss told soka25east.com requesting for anonymity to avoid jeopardising the discussions.
A senior member of the Kenyan Premier League governing council also echoed the same sentiments “Discussions are ongoing between KPL and Startimes and we hope they conclude well as they will bring more value as broadcast sponsors in the new season to ensure we get quality and additional motivation” the member who sort anonymity told soka25east.com
Multichoice sports broadcasting unit SuperSport cancelled its contract with the Kenyan Premier League (KPL) due to what the firm termed “KPL’s breach of the Licence Agreement entered into by the parties.”
This effectively meant that there was no live broadcast of KPL matches something that many football fans and club’s officials cried about until Bamba Sport came in with a $360,000 deal that covered the second leg of the league.
At the time of the cancellation Supersport Africa CEO Gideon Khobane said
“The situation became untenable and it put SuperSport at risk therefore SuperSport has no option but to terminate the contract… Formal notice of cancellation of the contract has been given and all the necessary procedures and steps are being put in place to manage the exit from this league,” .
The deal between KPL and Startimes is being negotiated by TransAfrica Media East Africa (TAM-EA) , through its sports agency subsidiary Frontiers Sport & Entertainment EA, after they secured commercial agency mandate from the Kenyan Premier League (KPL), to source sponsors for the league.
TAM-EA’s role is focused on securing partners for the eighteen -team league, as well as its other properties – including the Top 8 Knockout tournament, the U-19 tournament and the KPL awards.
Startimes have widened their operations and presence in Africa being available in Nigeria,Tanzania,Uganda,Rwanda,Burundi,Ghana,Guinea,Kenya.
