Kwesé & ESPN in Long-Term Deal for Sub-Saharan Africa

JOHANNESBURG/LONDON: Econet Media’s Kwesé and ESPN have entered into a media partnership in Africa, one that will see the launch of an ESPN channel in 19 countries across the continent.

The deal comes into effect in early 2017 with the debut of an ESPN channel exclusive to Kwesé. ESPN will also produce daily SportsCenter updates for Africa. In addition, by mid-2017, ESPN and Kwesé will launch an African edition of the ESPN website and mobile app. The new KweseESPN.com, and its accompanying app, will combine ESPN’s industry-leading coverage of global sports and world-class digital platform with local African sports news, analysis and perspectives from Kwesé.

Kwesé also adds NCAA American football and basketball to its existing broadcast rights for the NFL, NHL and the NBA, making it the home of American sports in Africa.

Joseph Hundah, the CEO of Kwesé parent company Econet Media, said, “Ultimately our goals are the same, to bring fans the best in global sports. The synergies between Kwesé and ESPN allow us to achieve that goal by leveraging our collective ability to deliver premium African and global sports programming to sports fans across Africa. We look forward to collaborating with ESPN in Africa and providing African sports fans with access to global sports like never before.”

Russell Wolff, the executive VP and managing director of ESPN International, added, “ESPN’s focus around the world is simple: to serve sports fans. This long-term collaboration across television and digital media will do just that—serve millions of sports fans across Africa with exceptional products, content and coverage. We are very excited about the opportunities that lie ahead as we bring ESPN’s great content, including SportsCenter, and decades of experience in sports media together with one of Africa’s most dynamic and vibrant companies.”