Bundesliga International strengthens distribution network with key partnerships in Sub-Saharan Africa

• Existing partners StarTimes and Azam TV sign three-year broadcast extensions for Bundesliga coverage
• Bundesliga International also adds ZAP as a new partner for Angola and Mozambique
• Furthermore, Bundesliga International prolongs its current partnership with SABC in South Africa and adds Media Business Solutions to market Free to Air (FTA) rights in further territories
• New deals are added to existing partnerships with Canal+ and New World Television

7 August 2024 – Bundesliga International has prolonged broadcast agreements with two key pay-TV partners in Sub-Saharan Africa, as well as adding a third ahead of the 2024-25 Bundesliga season.

Current broadcast partners StarTimes and Azam TV will continue to show the German top-flight for an additional three years, with the new deals concluding at the end of the 2026-27 season. Furthermore, StarTimes has also acquired the rights to the Bundesliga 2, strengthening its comprehensive German football offering.

Alongside coverage in English language, both organisations retain the rights to broadcast matches in a variety of local languages throughout Sub-Saharan Africa. The agreement extends the DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga’s pan-regional cooperation with StarTimes to more than 10 years, highlighting the successful collaboration between the two parties. For Azam TV, this deal represents an expansion of the previous agreement started in 2020, which initially previously focused on local language only. The Tanzanian-based broadcaster will now broadcast Bundesliga across Tanzania, Botswana, Burundi, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

In addition, pay-TV provider ZAP has partnered with Bundesliga International to deliver Portuguese coverage to Angola and Mozambique for the next three seasons. With more than 65 million people coming from these two countries alone, ZAP will support the DFL in further enhancing its engagement with football fans across the continent.

Alongside the rights to show Bundesliga matches, each of the three pay-TV broadcasters will have access to the German Supercup, which will this season take place between Bayer 04 Leverkusen and VfB Stuttgart at the BayArena, Leverkusen, on 17 August, as well as the all-important relegation play-off matches that take place at the end of every season.

For the DFL, however, it is not just about delivering an exceptional broadcast and showcasing the best of African talent, but also creating tangible opportunities for fans young and old to engage with the Bundesliga.

Peer Naubert, Chief Marketing Officer, Bundesliga International

As part of its expanded broadcaster network, Bundesliga International also allocates the distribution of one key match per matchday, as well as related shoulder programming, as part of a Free-To-Air (FTA) offering. In South Africa, Bundesliga International has reached an agreement with public-service broadcaster SABC to prolong the current partnership for another two seasons, securing continued national coverage of Bundesliga matches which have been ever-present since the collaboration began in 2020.

Bundesliga International has also awarded FTA rights for one match per matchday to African-focused agency Media Business Solutions (MBS), which will sub-license Bundesliga media rights across Sub-Saharan Africa. Furthermore, MBS will closely collaborate with Bundesliga International to find sponsors for the Bundesliga transmissions accordingly.

The overall Bundesliga partner setup across Sub-Saharan Africa is complemented by broadcasters Canal+ and New World Television, both of whom continue to feature the Bundesliga in Francophone Africa under agreements that have been in place since the start of the 2023-24 season.

Bundesliga International Chief Marketing Officer Peer Naubert said: “The Bundesliga has a long and storied history in Africa: one of the early movers when it came to broadcasting European football throughout the continent, the pioneering television programme ‘Football Made in Germany’ brought the best of the Bundesliga to fans each week and, for many, started a love affair with German football. Since then, we have gone from strength to strength and, as a result of our comprehensive distribution and marketing strategy, the Bundesliga is the fastest growing European top league in Africa, and that interest continues to grow.”

“For the DFL, however, it is not just about delivering an exceptional broadcast and showcasing the best of African talent, but also creating tangible opportunities for fans young and old to engage with the Bundesliga. This is at the heart of our ‘Football As Its Meant To Be’ mantra, and we can only do that with our network of strong partners. We look forward to the continuation of our collaboration, working closely with them to realise our shared goals.”

From legends of the game including Jay-Jay Okocha and Sammy Kuffour, Africans in the Bundesliga continue to shine on the world stage. Leverkusen centre-back Odilon Kossounou and Dortmund striker Sebastian Haller were part of the Ivory Coast’s successful 2023 Africa Cup of Nations side, while Stuttgart’s Serhou Guirassy (now with Borussia Dortmund) and Leverkusen’s Victor Boniface were two of the Bundesliga’s top scorers over the course of the 2023-24 season.