New World TV (NWTV), the Togo-based pan-African satellite television network, has secured sub-Saharan African, French-language rights to European soccer's main UEFA club competitions from 2024 to 2027.
The deal includes coverage of the top-tier UEFA Champions League, second-tier UEFA Europa League, third-tier UEFA Conference League, as well as the UEFA Youth League.
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This expands NWTV's existing tie-up with UEFA – it is already the sub-Saharan home of national team UEFA competitions for the 2022-28 cycle. That multi-year deal grants NWTV exclusive free-to-air, pay-TV, mobile, and digital rights for the competitions in 22 territories.
This club competitions agreement covers more than 525 live matches in 26 territories in sub-Saharan Africa in both French and local languages, with more than 96% of the UEFA club competition matches to be covered across each of the three seasons (2024-25, 2025-26, and 2026-27.)
NWTV has said, in a likely reference to potential free-to-air sub-licensing deals, that it will "also explore options to work closely with national broadcasters in these 26 territories to maximize media exposure of UEFA club competitions."
The current UEFA media rights cycle – 2021-24 – sees French-language rights in sub-Saharan Africa held by the Canal Plus pay-TV heavyweight. English-language rights, meanwhile, are held by SuperSport.
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By GlobalDataThe tender for club competition rights for the next cycle in sub-Saharan Africa was opened by UEFA and its Team Marketing agency partner in late November, with a deadline of mid-December.
Nimonka Kolani, group managing director of New World TV, has said: “We are delighted to have finalized this historic agreement and are proud to launch the revolutionary new UEFA club competition format which will feature more clubs, over a longer period and with many more matches.
“This new agreement strengthens our position as one of the leading sports channels on the continent covering the biggest international football competitions. We look forward to working with UEFA and Team Marketing to bring the best moments of this prestigious competition to our subscribers.
“This agreement further illustrates our active work in the region, where we are now involved in several global sporting events to enable African populations to access these major competitions at an affordable price and in their local languages, including Ewe, Lingala, Wolof, Bambara, Hausa and Swahili on New World TV television channels and those of our partners across Africa.
In terms of its major soccer rights portfolio, last November NWTV agreed a three-year media rights deal with the Confederation of African Football (CAF). The agreement covers the free-to-air and paid broadcast rights to all CAF competitions from 2023 to 2025 in 46 countries in sub-Saharan Africa.
In July, NWTV also signed a three-season media rights partnership with Bundesliga International, the global commercial rights division of the German league.
The network acquired non-exclusive pay-TV rights to the Bundesliga in a three-season deal, in both French and selected local languages, as well as a package of free-to-air rights in Togo alone.
The media group also held sub-Saharan French and local language rights to the 2022 Qatar World Cup having agreed to a deal with governing body FIFA the previous year.
UEFA, meanwhile, began the tender process earlier in February for media rights to its top-tier club competitions during 2024-27 in a host of Asia-Pacific (APAC) markets.
In terms of deals struck, last month saw DAZN Canada retain exclusive rights in that market to all UEFA club competitions for the next three campaigns, while Turkish public-service broadcaster TRT also struck a coverage deal.
