ESPN team up with Kwese in Africa

Econet Media’s Kwesé and ESPN have announced a media collaboration in Africa.

The deal comes into effect in early 2017 with the launch of an ESPN channel in 19 countries, salve which is exclusive to Kwesé. 

ESPN will also produce daily SportsCenter updates for Africa, pills bringing the sports news and highlights brand to the channel.

In addition, by mid-2017, ESPN and Kwesé will together launch an African edition of the ESPN website and mobile app. 

With the conclusion of this agreement Kwesé adds NCAA American football and basketball to its existing broadcast rights for the NFL, NHL and the NBA, making it the home of American sports in Africa.

Speaking about the significance of the agreement, Joseph Hundah, Chief Executive Officer of Econet Media said, “Ultimately our goals are the same, to bring fans the best in global sports. The synergies between Kwesé and ESPN allow us to achieve that goal by leveraging our collective ability to deliver premium African and global sports programming to sports fans across Africa. We look forward to collaborating with ESPN in Africa and providing African sports fans with access to global sports like never before.”

Added Russell Wolff, Executive Vice President and Managing Director, ESPN International, “ESPN’s focus around the world is simple: to serve sports fans. This long-term collaboration across television and digital media will do just that — serve millions of sports fans across Africa with exceptional products, content and coverage. We are very excited about the opportunities that lie ahead as we bring ESPN’s great content, including SportsCenter, and decades of experience in sports media together with one of Africa’s most dynamic and vibrant companies.”