Digital TV operator StarTimes has announced its acquisition of LaLiga Santander broadcasting rights until 2024 across sub-Saharan Africa.
The company has secured the transmission rights of the Spanish top league, which will be broadcast in French language across its media platforms for paid subscribers in 47 territories.
“We are delighted to have secured the broadcast rights to LaLiga Santander, one of the most prestigious football competitions in the world,” said Kristen Miao, StarTimes Sport Director. “The acquiring of LaLiga Santander shows our commitment to continuously enrich our bouquets and to provide our subscribers with premium sport content.”
“This agreement provides an exciting new way for French speaking fans across sub-Saharan Africa to get closer to our competition,” said Melcior Soler, director of the LaLiga audiovisual department. “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.”
StarTimes will broadcast LaLiga Santander starting from the coming 2020/21 season. Matches will be aired live and in HD on the StarTimes Sport channels in French as well as the StarTimes ON streaming application.
About StarTimes
StarTimes is the leading digital TV operator in Africa, serving 13 million DVB subscribers and 20 million OTT users in 30+ countries. StarTimes owns a 600+ channels’ content platform combining African local channels (75%) and international channels (25%, including Chinese channels 1.5%). The company’s vision is “To ensure that every African family can access, afford, watch and share the beauty of digital TV”.
About LaLiga
LaLiga is a global, innovative and socially responsible organisation, a leader in the leisure and entertainment sector. It is a private sports association composed of the 20 clubs in LaLiga Santander and 22 in LaLiga SmartBank, responsible for the organization of these national professional football competitions. In the 2018/2019 season, LaLiga reached a cumulative audience of more than 2.7 billion people globally. With headquarters in Madrid (Spain), it is present in 41 countries through 11 offices and 44 delegates, covering 84 countries. The association carries out its social action through its Foundation and is the world’s first professional football league with a league for intellectually challenged footballers: LaLiga Genuine Santander.