Canal+, the French media giant, has further solidified its dominance in Africa following a new agreement that expands the broadcast coverage of French soccer’s top-flight Ligue 1. This comes as South Africa's Multichoice also gains rights to broadcast multiple Ligue 1 games per week across English-speaking Africa through its SuperSport channel.
The new deal with SuperSport will see three live Ligue 1 games aired each week across English-speaking African countries. These include prominent markets such as Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, and Uganda among others. The agreement also extends to Portuguese-speaking territories in sub-Saharan Africa like Angola, Cape Verde, and Mozambique.
The inaugural game under this deal was between Paris Saint-Germain and RC Strasbourg on Saturday (October 18).
Interest from African fans
Ligue 1 boasts over 200 players from sub-Saharan African national teams playing in Europe’s top leagues. Additionally, many more players represent other countries but have African heritage. This makes it one of the biggest foreign markets for Ligue 1.
For SuperSport viewers this means they can follow players such as Ernest Nuamah (Lyon) and Mohammed Salisu (Monaco) of Ghana; Terem Moffi (Nice) and Moses Simon (Paris FC) of Nigeria; Clinton Mata (Lyon) of Angola among others. This tie-up further strengthens Canal+'s control over Ligue 1's broadcast outlook in Africa. The media giant recently took control of Multichoice through a $1.9 billion merger that unites the South African media company with Canal+'s existing business operations in Africa.
Prior to this takeover, Canal+ already had a strong presence operating directly or indirectly via wholly or partially-owned subsidiaries across over 25 African countries. This accounted for over 8.1 million subscribers on the continent as of the end of 2023.
Canal+'s Ligue 1 rights in French-speaking Africa
Canal+ has been broadcasting Ligue 1 in French-speaking Sub-Saharan Africa since the beginning of the 2018-19 season, after purchasing rights for around €80 million ($95.4 million) per year through to the end of the 2023-24 season.
The addition of English-speaking Africa to its portfolio cements Canal+'s media dominance over this market and bolsters its portfolio with further Ligue 1 rights acquisition.
Despite ongoing disagreements between Canal+ and Ligue 1 in France over previous failed media rights agreements, it is clear that on an international level, Canal Plus views Ligue 1 as a valuable asset it cannot do without. This expansion into English-speaking and Portuguese-speaking territories in sub-Saharan Africa demonstrates that their competitive strategies do not extend to foreign markets.
