Multichoice, owners of DStv, had broadcasted every edition
of the continental showpiece since 1992.
“SuperSport Channel will not broadcast the Africa Cup of
Nations (AFCON) 2023 scheduled for January 13th to February 11th, 2024, because
the channel has not secured the rights to broadcast the tournament,” it said in
a statement this week.
The DStv blackout is not unconnected to the new order in the
African football television space after Togolese broadcaster, New World TV, won
the Free-to-Air and Pay TV rights to all CAF competitions in the Sub-Saharan
Africa region.
The rights were previously held by the African Union of
Broadcasters, SuperSport International, and Canal Plus.
It was reported that New World TV and CAF entered into a
three-year deal as the rights holders of 13 competitions in total, which will
include the 2023 and 2025 AFCON tournaments across 46 countries in the region,
including South Africa.
This means that the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) and
free-to-air stations in the 46 countries looking to broadcast the AFCON and any
other CAF competitions would now have to sublicense the rights through New
World TV.
Here are four main platforms Nigerians can turn to:
Nigerian Television Authority (NTA)
Nigerians can turn to the Nigerian Television Authority
(NTA), the country’s most prominent television station to watch the 2023 AFCON.
NTA has been broadcasting live happenings at every AFCON on
its popular NTA Sports 24, free to air.
StarTimes
StarTimes subscribers in Nigeria can also watch all 52
matches of the 2023 AFCON live on StarTimes sports channels or stream via the
StarTimes ON mobile app.
New World TV
In December 2023, New World TV, a Togo-based network,
secured an exclusive three-year deal with CAF to air all of its competitions,
including AFCON, across 46 African countries until 2025.
This might provide an option for viewers in Nigeria to watch
the games.
Ziggo Sport
Nigerian Football fans in the diaspora can enjoy all
tournament matches on Ziggo Sport, a Dutch pay-TV network.
Ziggo Sport secured an exclusive right to broadcast live
action of two editions of the Africa Cup of Nations, 2023 in Ivory Coast and
2025 in Morocco.