Kwesé, ESPN sign long-term collaboration agreement for sub-Saharan Africa

Econet Media’s Kwesé and ESPN yesterday announced a ground-breaking media collaboration in Africa. The deal will deliver the most comprehensive sports coverage in Africa, offering a wide range of sports and thousands of hours of programming.

A statement by the duo said African audiences will benefit from industry-leading content from the world’s leading sports media company in ESPN, in conjunction with Kwesé’s premium sports offering. It added that Kwesé’s pan-African reach and its TV everywhere multiplatform distribution capability will deliver the content to viewers through TV and digital platforms making it accessible to sports fans wherever they are.
 
The deal comes into effect in early 2017 with the launch of an ESPN channel in 19 countries, which is exclusive to Kwesé. ESPN will also produce daily SportsCenter updates for Africa, bringing the iconic sports news and highlights brand to the channel.

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.”
 
Executive Vice President and Managing Director, ESPN International, Russell Wolff, added: “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.”