MultiChoice Ethiopia cemented its investment into local sports at the signing ceremony for the Ethiopian Premier League.
SuperSport were awarded exclusive rights for the broadcasting of the Ethiopian Premier League Matches which poses an exciting opportunity to support Ethiopian football and its fans, and to affirm MultiChoice Ethiopia’s commitment to investing in sport. BetKing will be the Title Sponsor for the Ethiopian Premier League. BetKing is a digital entertainment and sports technology business that owns and operates its own proprietary platform and product portfolio.
The Ethiopian Premier League is heralding a new era in Ethiopian football with the backing of Africa’s leading home of sports, SuperSport and BetKing. Today marked the official signing ceremony to mark this momentous occasion for Ethiopian football. The previously announced broadcast deal represents a first for the league by bringing together Ethiopia’s top teams to compete a double round-robin system.
The initial direct investment from SuperSport and BetKing will span over the next 5 years and is set to benefit all the teams participating in the league which directly impacts and benefits the players. The aim of the investment is for SuperSport to continue building sports broadcasting capability in the country, with this in mind SuperSport has committed to invest in building infrastructure to enable quality footage for broadcasting while simultaneously building opportunities for skills development, training and knowledge sharing.
Through this investment and the partnership with the Ethiopian Football League, the league will enjoy international exposure with the aim to give Ethiopian football players a platform through which to put Ethiopia on the world football map.
Commenting during the signing ceremony held in Addis Ababa today, MultiChoice Ethiopia Managing Director Gelila G. Michael said “Ethiopia as a country is passionate about football and as a business rooted in the country and committed to providing content that resonates with our customers we are extremely excited to have the broadcast rights for the Ethiopian Premier League.”
“For us this investment is an opportunity not only to place Ethiopia on the world stage in the short-term, but to be part of developing skills, creating indirect job opportunities and developing a sustainable sports offering in the long-term which forms part of our overall business strategy and commitment to Ethiopia,” Gelila G.Michael continued.
In another first, the league will be sponsored by BetKing, Africa’s fastest growing digital entertainment and sports technology company. Allen McInnes, Managing Director of BetKing in Ethiopia, said: “ We are proud to be announcing our partnership with the Ethiopian Premier League today – football is a central part of our business and this platform not only gives us added reach in an important jurisdiction, but also allows us to put something back into the grass roots of the game we all love”.
DStv Ethiopia, through SuperSport is now the proud home of Ethiopian football and this commitment to supporting and developing local content for audiences is an integral part of the company’s commitment to the country. This investment is characteristic of the company which has a long legacy in the country and recently reaffirmed its intentions to continue to grow and expand its reach across the country. Ethiopian football and its fans will no doubt benefit from having such an experienced and committed partner to help to grow the sport over the next few years.
“This partnership enables us to take the league to the next level and continue to build the brand through partnering with SuperSport to enhance broadcast quality and develop skills. This poses an opportunity not only for the league, but for the teams and players as well. SuperSport’s investment into the league is already testament to the local talent. Our football history is a proud one with our country being one of the first teams to form the African Cup of Nations, this partnership will give the country an opportunity to strive to reach its former prestigious ranking,” said Lieutenant Fekade Mamo, President of the Ethiopian Premier league company.
The Ethiopian Premier League comprises 16 clubs and will be aired across the entire territory of sub-Saharan Africa and the adjacent islands, where the appetite for soccer is substantial.
This announcement is in line with MultiChoice’s overall investment in Ethiopia and its aim to ramp up its local content offering. Through DStv Ethiopia the business recently launched various Amharic language channels as well as local free-to-air channels, which means DStv now brings audiences in Ethiopia even more local content to choose from.
“For us this investment brings the transformative power of media to life, it shows that DStv not only brings entertainment to Ethiopian viewers in their own language and voice, but can enable an industry to grow, create jobs, contribute to the economy and most importantly inspire a nation,” Gelila G.Michael.
About BetKing
BetKing is a digital entertainment and sports technology business that owns and operates its own proprietary platform and product portfolio. This scalable capability enables the Group to take a customised approach to entering new industries and markets.
The Group entered the African market in 2018 and has already grown to be a major player in the Region – driven by a strong focus on sports entertainment experiences delivered by their in-house digital sport-tech platform, combined with a customer-centric approach to distribution across retail and online channels, strong localised regulatory relationships and a brand portfolio that customers recognise and trust.
This tailor-made approach, driven by an exceptional leadership team from a range of high growth sectors, has powered the rapid growth of the Group in the Region.
