StarTimes picks up French La Liga rights in sub-Saharan Africa

Spanish football league La Liga has sold a package of broadcast rights to digital TV operator StarTimes in sub-Saharan Africa through to 2024.

The deal will see the TV and OTT operator carry the French language broadcasts of the league in 47 territories. The operator will air live matches on its linear StarTimes Sport channels in French and on its StarTimes ON  streaming app.

StarTimes is Africa’s leading digital TV operator, with over 13 million DVB subscribers and 20 million OTT users in over 30 countries.

Kristen Miao, StarTimes Sport director, said: “We are delighted to have secured the broadcast rights to La Liga Santander, one of the most prestigious football competitions in the world. The acquisition of La Liga Santander shows our commitment to continuously enrich our bouquets and to provide our subscribers with premium sport content.”

Melcior Soler, director of the La Liga audiovisual department: “This agreement provides an exciting new way for French speaking fans across sub-Saharan Africa to get closer to our competition. StarTimes has a strong presence in the region and a proven expertise in sports in general and football in particular, which will help us all to reach as wide an audience as possible.”

This is the latest distribution deal for La Liga in sub-Saharan Africa, following a deal with South Africa-based broadcaster SuperSport. The broadcaster will continue to be the home of La Liga throughout sub-Saharan Africa in all languages apart from Arabic and French.