All is set for the big kick-off

After three years of anguish and wait, finally local top tier football will be back on the big screens following the new seven year partnership deal between Football Kenya Federation (FKF) and StarTimes Media.

The package will include 100 live matches for the premier league, Betika Super League and all Harambee Stars friendly matches broadcasted per season.

The broadcasting partners will have two dedicated channels for both satellite and decoders respectively.

Viewers will now be able to watch all live matches for a fee with a transmitted match between AFC Leopards and Tusker tomorrow being first on the queue beginning at 3pm.

Speaking during the partnership deal, Football Kenya Federation president Nick Mwendwa hailed the partnership as historic.

“It is a new dawn and indeed we are breaking new ground. It is clear in the last three years we all suffered and players especially so because of fans desire we went out to seek deals. 

I am happy that after two months of negotiations, we came to an agreement.

We all know that for television, partnerships have to be long term so as to be valuable and thus our seven year deal is great news for all football stakeholders,” he said.

At least 14 clubs have agreed to the terms which will expectedly see each club get Sh 10 million annually for three consecutive years.

The deal can then be renegotiated as at the sixth year by 50 per cent and indeed the increment will be dependent on discussions.

Part of the StarTimes deal will also include 30 matches broadcasted for the second tier National Super League.

Decoders will retail at Sh 299 while every match in the FKF-PL will be watched for Sh 20 while on satellite will be Sh 40.

Star Times CEO Andy Wang on his part described the new deal with FKF as one that will grow viewership.

“I thank the Federation for this partnership and it is beneficial to both ends. We want to have a harmonized broadcast and I believe the entry of StarTimes into the Kenyan market is great for value. 

It is evident that we have progressively built a brand in the continent and therefore a unique opportunity to show commitment and make the experience as memorable as possible.

This product will be available for Kenya subscribers and we want to encourage many more.