StarTimes Media has secured the rights to air the FIFA 2018 World Cup that will be held in Russia between 16th June to 15th July 2018. This comes after the soccer governing body (FIFA) availed media rights to all 2017/2018 tournaments. The company, which is said to serve over 10 million subscribers, aims to grace football fans with the opportunity to enjoy the hugely competitive global tournament.
In addition to the Kenyan market, StarTimes will extend the same provision to other markets where it operates, which covers the majority of continental Africa. At the same time, the media company has acquired rights to air other 2017 – 2018 FIFA tournaments such as the Women’s World Cup U-20 and U-17, Confederations Cup, Beach Soccer World Cup, among other competitions.
Speaking during the announcement of these acquisitions, the Vice President of StarTimes, Mr. Mark Lisboa applauded the progress made by the company’s efforts in delivering quality content for its viewers across the country at affordable charges.
“We are delighted to secure the broadcast rights to the 2018 World Cup, a tournament that every soccer fan across the globe looks forward to every four years, the fact that StarTimes will bring this showpiece to Kenyan households is a great breakthrough as it demonstrates our progressive commitment to provide access to premium content at the most affordable subscription costs,” noted Mr. Lisboa.
With several dedicated sports channels such as Sports Arena and Sports Life, which are aired at high definition, StarTimes has made significant steps in acquiring exclusive rights to broadcast other matches from top leagues. Currently, it airs Germany’s Bundesliga, Italy’s Serie A as well as the Chinese Super League. Based on these efforts, the company is on the right path in asserting its authority as a top digital TV operator.
The tournament will be available for all subscription options, which were revised to KES 500 for the basic bouquet as well as the Classic and Unique bouquets which retail for KES 999 and KES 1499 respectively.
