The agreement is expected to address the challenge of African sports being largely controlled by non-African networks and broadcasting houses, marking a strategic shift towards empowering African entities to take control of the broadcasts
African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has announced the signing of a €245m global facility with the New World Television (NWTV) network. The funding will part-finance the network’s acquisition of media licensing rights for selected broadcasting sport copyrights from global media rights holders to permit broadcast across Africa.
The facility agreement covers broadcasting sport copyrights from the International Federation of Football Association (FIFA), Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), Confederation Africaine de Football (CAF), French Ligue and Spanish LaLiga. It is expected to address the challenge of African sports being largely controlled by non-African networks and broadcasting houses, marking a strategic shift towards empowering African entities to take control of the broadcasts, celebrate local sports talent and showcase the richness of the continent’s sporting culture.
It will also boost the development of the African television industry ecosystem by growing revenue opportunities for television stations that would now be able to add more content into their rotations and that would be able to sell more advertisement spaces, in addition to enabling NWTV to promote the diffusion of sports content in local languages. NWTV, which is currently able to develop broadcast content in seven local languages in 24 countries, is working on three additional languages to be deployed in 2024.
Granted within Afreximbank’s CANEX Financing Programme, under the Sports Development Framework of its Creative Economy Strategy, the facility is expected to support the development of Africa’s sports value chain by placing the ownership of African sports content firmly in African hands.
Speaking on the facility, Kanayo Awani, Executive Vice President, Intra-African Trade and Export Development, Afreximbank said: “The import of this facility lies in the significant impact it will make in empowering African enterprises, particularly in the creative sector, to assume control of African sports. By taking control of these broadcasting rights, we will see the fostering of local content production, creation of job opportunities and strengthening of the continent’s competitive edge in the global market while promoting cultural identity and economic growth. Afreximbank is strongly committed to supporting African enterprises driving progress in the creative sector and this transaction is a testament to that commitment.”
Louis Biyao, representative of the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NWTV, commented: “It is a great honour for NWTV to benefit from such support, which allows it to streamline its transactions without the constraints related to currency exchanges. This agreement opens new opportunities for NWTV, guided by the motto ‘produced by Africans, for Africans in Africa,’ to offer premium content to a larger number of Africans. This is content that is accessible and closely aligned with their reality, at a very affordable cost.”
He added: “NWTV aims to provide an innovative and accessible alternative in the African audiovisual landscape, broadcasting high-quality content in local languages, tailored to the expectations of African populations. This approach is fully in line with NWTV’s commitment to bringing audiovisual content closer to every African household.”
