South African sports broadcasters Supersport have acquired the television rights to broadcast this year’s Africa Youth Games. The Gaborone held games will commence on May 22, local broadcasters Botswana Television (BTV) will also broadcast the tournament.
The Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA) owns the TV rights of the competition and they were responsible for identifying and negotiating deals with prospective broadcasters. ANOCA negotiated the deal last year on behalf of the Botswana Africa Youth Games Organizing Committee (BAYGOC).
BTV were the initial broadcasters targeted by the competition’s organizers, they also pursued Supersport given the channel’s availability in various African countries. The South African sports channel has a wide variety of viewers across the continent and they have specific channels that could give viewers unlimited access to the tournament.
Both channels are expected to display live coverage of the tournament, including the opening and closing ceremonies. The Minister of Youth, Sport and Culture, Shaw Kgathi revealed that Supersport and BTV would be the official broadcasters of the tournament when he addressed the parliament last week Thursday.
He said the following, “The Games will be broadcast live in most if not all the African countries, through Botswana Television and Supersport.” Despite Kgathi’s confirmation the tournament’s organizers, BAYGOC, are yet to make an official announcement.
When reached for comment BAYGOC’s Chief Executive Officer, Tuelo Serufho, acknowledged that a deal is in place for BTV and Supersport to be the main broadcasters but stated that they are yet to conclude the deals.
“We have agreed in principle with both channels. They both showed an interest in televising the competition. We are at the tail end of our negotiations, we expect to reach an official understanding soon,” said Serufho.
Supersport and BTV are expected to provide free television feeds to other African countries, this will be done to enable other countries without access to both channels to tune it to the tournament. The continental tournament is only 77 days away from commencing.