Canal+ renews LaLiga rights for Sub-Saharan Africa

Spanish football’s LaLiga has announced a renewed deal for the league’s pay TV French language rights with Canal+ in Sub-Saharan Africa, Madagascar and Mauritius.

From the start of the 2022/23 season starting August 12, Canal+ will offer live coverage in each round of selected matches in LaLiga and the second division LaLiga SmartBank. The deal will also see Canal+ carry magazine programmes LaLiga World and LaLiga SmartBank Highlights.

The broadcaster said that it is “positioned more than ever as the only sports broadcaster in Sub-Saharan Africa to offer to its subscribers all the major European football leagues,” with LaLiga being complemented by the rights to France’s Ligue 1, Germany’s Bundesliga, the English Premier League and the Italian Serie A.

Interest in the Spanish league in Africa will be increased this year, with Barcelona signing AC Milan’s midfield enforcer Franck Kessié and Real Madrid spending more than €100 million to sign Franco Cameroonian Aurélien Tchouaméni. 

The news comes days after Canal+ announced a sublicencing deal in Slovakia and the Czech Republic with Slovak Telekom, DIGI Slovakia, and T-Mobile for the English Premier League.