Free sports channel joins Kenya’s TV market

Competition in the sports television market has intensified with the entry of a new player, Kwese Free Sports.  Kwese, launched in early 2016 to tap the African sports TV market by Econet Media, begins broadcasting today.

The firm is associated with Zimbabwean billionaire Strive Masiyiwa, who is also a shareholder in Liquid Telecom. Mr Masiyiwa has been snapping rights to various popular leagues across the world.  “We are armed with over 2,000 hours of free to air sports content, which viewers can now enjoy”, said Monica Ndung’u, Kwese Free Sports General Manager for Kenya.

Kwese is the latest beneficiary of digital migration in Kenya, which opened up the media space to new players. This has not only given viewers more variety but the increased competition that has seen consumers win with better content.

MultiChoice through its SuperSport channels has reigned supreme in the sports segment, but recent moves by media firm such as StarTimes and Azam have forced it to cede some of the market share.

Kwese Free Sports content will be available as a channel on a free-to-air set top box, with users also able to access the same content online. “Kwese Free Sports has the exclusive free to air rights to the English Premier League for the Sub-Saharan Africa market, which means viewers can watch one match live every Saturday,” she said.

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In addition to the EPL, Kwese has also acquired rights to the National Basketball Association (NBA), Extreme Fighting Championship (EFC) and most recently the National Football League (NFL). The company is also engaging local content producers to develop its own content. “We are snapping new content for our channel with a focus on providing Kenyan viewers with a diversity of content,” she added.

Kwese Free Sports has signed up two new shows, Xtreme Outdoor Africa and Ball N’Africa which will begin airing soon. Other shows also set to air in the near future include Sports Stars Uncovered, The Secret Lives of Sport, Football Stars, Sports Confidential, The Fast Lane and Sporting Greats on the channel.