Breaking News :Football - Telkom Kenya wants in too !

Telkom Kenya has today added to the list of Kenyan corporates who are finally waking up to the reality of sports sponsorship. In a gesture towards CECAFA which was previously enjoying sponsorship from GTV ( Gateway Services)- which has since wound up, this is a major boost in confidence to the local and regional football fraternity.
Beating the deadline for hosting the tournament, Kenya almost dithered with the chance but thanks to some inspiration from the CECAFA Secretariat led by one Nicholas Musonye. The tournament will run in Nairobi and Mumias from November 28th to December 13th 2009. With KFF or KPL (or whoever runs football locally, I seem to get lost all the time) almost grounding our chances in the continental championships, let's hope the regional cup can be ours for the taking. Better watch out though for Rwanda and Tanzania...

Sports and Media : Can we take the cue ?

In February this year, the English Premier League executives signed a record TV rights deal while the rest of the sporting world was looking into ways of cutting down their expenses.
I must confess besides the usual serving which keeps me like the rest of the football fans glued to the TV, these guys are miles ahead of most sports marketing executives.
Back in the 80s, the then new Commissioner David Stern had quite a job to convince the TV channels to run the basketball games which by then were tottering down into the abyss badly in need of a clean image and an appeal to audiences in the US. An arduous task which he handled well and we started noticing the NBA Play-offs match-ups pitting legendaries such as LA Lakers vs Boston Celtics. Who can forget what has now become one of the most watched event across the world,the NBA All-Star Weekend?
The same can be said of FIFA and IOC executives who saw the potential in this and quickly followed the cue. Since the late 1990s we have seen exponential growth in sports broadcasting, with some slots for main sponsorship partner easily running into over US $100 million.
Africa has also developed a lucrative broadcast powerhouse in the name of MultiChoice/ Supersport which has revolutionised sports coverage in the continent. They recently won exclusive rights for the World Cup 2010 as they enjoy the goodwill of having it at their background. They enjoyed a bit of a scare when GTV launched 2 years ago but we all know what happen to the blitz they had...
Back in Kenya, I wonder what is ailing us with broadcast houses still touching sports with a long stick. Most usually cover one event and leave off once the Games are done. Others still try to capitalise on the hype around an event e.g. the recent World Cup qualifier against Tunisia.
A replica of what might be the first station dedicated exclusively to sport is the Radio Jambo currently run by (Radio Africa Broadcasting- they who run Kiss 100 FM and Classic 105.2 FM). Too bad most of their information dwells on European Leagues where they can get info from the Net, rather than making more relevance by building capacities locally and regionally.
If we are to become a serious contender for sporting events in Africa, media is one area we cannot afford to ignore. One or two media-houses may come up with something for that reason. We can learn a lot from MultiChoice's SuperSport and with their recent entry into the market,it's as good a time as any !

Inspired by Sportbusiness.com

Naspers acquires English Premiership TV rights

( Thanks to your comments on the GTV article below, we can now report the following)

Following GTV’s closure, Naspers has acquired rights to the English Premier League games for an undisclosed fee. The company was among the companies that had bid for the rights together with GTV and DSTv last year but lost out narrowly with GTV getting 80% of the games while DSTv managed to get 20% (though they did screen recorded games).
This is some relief to the English game’s enthusiasts, who were beginning to rue their weekend afternoons thanks to these acquired tastes. I'm afraid though that DSTv will maintain monopolistic tendencies which may hurt growth and competition in pay TV.
Lesson learnt: We should look to improve our own before seeking other leagues-at least the loss would be more bearable.
See details here

Wretched Weekend

This is one weekend that Kenyans would love to forget. With the disasters striking us at our weakest (though without sounding insensitive, this could be avoided) to bad shows by our Kenyan teams.
The loss by our cricket team is not something we thought about before hosting them. It is should be a case of serious concern since Kenya is playing for the World Cup qualifiers in March and with such outings (given last year’s dismal performances against South Africa’s and India’s A teams- sort of junior teams) we can only hope for divine intervention. Missed opportunities are what there are! Cricket Kenya-now louder in its silence than its activities, any leads on what to expect?
Football- OK that much I’m not surprised because while we extolled our national team, our local clubs are still in their doldrums when it comes to international exposure. This is a direct correlation to the management of football which I have documented here more times than any sport. Mathare United may have a fair chance of qualification.

Photo courtesy of The Standard

Gor Mahia’s last international engagement was 8 years ago and then we throw them Armée Patriotique Rwandaise (APR) –Rwanda-regulars in continental championships and current CECAFA Club champions, joke, BIG JOKE! Return leg- Kigali – 15th Feb and we expect to win by 6 clear goals …another miracle waiting to happen!
It's ironic that while our Kenyan boys are getting whipped, a Kenyan footballer is making things happen across the borders for Yanga.
As shown below, GTV closed shop and thereby going under with people’s money in subscription rates. Pub owners are the worst hit and a cursory stroll in town on Saturday and Sunday was evident that most enthusiasts find it more entertaining at these joints. For those with multiple subscriptions, it was lucky for them though some English games may have been recorded and shown later (DSTv/MultiChoice). As my friend Bankelele says, one of Kenya’s premier ISP’s can now pitch its solution (Zuku) and hope to fill in the void ( where I find GTV were part of the offering). But Kenyans being the skeptics they are might take time appreciating such solutions which don’t come easy…+ subscription rates maybe slightly higher given our appetite for foreign programmes.
Kenyan sport will surely need a kick going into the second month of the year as we prepare to go for the cross-country championships. At least our athletes have redeemed our pride in more times than one, but we better find this elsewhere…can all who say YES please stand-up ?

GTV goes bust!

In these financial woes, nothing seems to be spared. From your morning ratios being cut to bare essentials to your favourite sports catch ups. Gateway Broadcasting Services, the holding company for GTV has closed shop and hence no more cable TV for all you sports enthusiasts.
This comes too close to their committing to cover more local content and ensuring coverage of the regional tournaments including CECAFA.
This is a loss to all you pub owners and home owners too who have paid subscription to the company starting 2009 and the periods preceding.
My quick assessment tells me that the company may have secured most of its finance through debt and thus with the financial crunch hitting all, they couldn’t take it anymore. Let’s see what unfolds as we live in historic times!

The statement from the company's here.

CECAFA- Missed opportunities

Yesterday marked the final game of the CECAFA Senior Challenge Cup and if not surprising, Uganda managed to win the title pipping Kenya 1-0. Though most teams had sent their weaker sides, the competition was supposed to be a good opportunity for Kenya and other teams preparing for the Africa Cup of Nations/World Cup qualifiers to test their charges.

While Kenyans take consolation finishing second, the FIFA rankings reckoned otherwise- Kenya’s currently placed 84th and its neighbour Uganda at 68th- another opportunity to capitalize on placing our country in a steady position (You know we can’t send our players to some professional leagues if we are below 70th position- like the English Leagues?)
With the invitation of a guest team the competition was supposed to have a competitive edge to it and at least give value for money for sponsors and pay Tv channel GTV which signed a contract to air the games. This didn’t quit live to the billing though the bigger teams seemed to struggle earlier in the tourney. The wider African audience may have been amused by the level of competition exhibited.
Watching the games from the comfort of our seats was not shared by our players who kept complaining of the pathetic conditions of the pitches- especially what looked like a grazing field in Jinja. Can CECAFA attract serious funding with such grounds?
Why live up to such mediocrity?
What was worrying too was the timing of the tournament, which meant there were few fans getting into the gates of the stadia. Missed opportunity for revenues!
With the next tournament to be held in Kenya, there should a lot going for it. My belief is that Kenya will still be in the running to qualify for the Cup of Nations. As for the World Cup, I would like to share my optimism but with no proper management and tactical plans are in place to guarantee this. Tunisia which is also in the same Group had sent its personnel to analyse our game. Do we bother to do such assessment on our opposition?
Let’s hope Kenya will redeem the image of the tournament.

GTV does another 1st

GTV DOES ANOTHER FIRST
Money talks! Well GTV talks these sides of the Sahara! In what seems to be an aggressive drive to take the sports world in East & Central if not the greater Africa, GTV signed what is up to now the biggest sponsorship deal with any sporting body an estimated KShs. 402 million deal with CECAFA-the body that runs football in East & Central Africa. This contract’s details are as follows;
o 4-year deal for the coverage and exclusive rights for the screening of any event organized by CECAFA i.e. both the club championships and national teams challenge cup;
o Travel, accommodation and related costs for the hosts and playing nations (& clubs);
o Prize money at KShs. 2.04million (approx. US$30910) for the winners of the Senior Challenge Cup, 1.02 Million (approx. US$15455) for the runners-up and KShs.510000 for the third-placed team for the same.
This covers a period of 4 years starting this year. I’m sure some sports officials are already salivating with the hungry ones maybe planning an assault on the goodies. But GTV executives have made it very clear; this commitment is to enhance the growth and appreciation of the game in the region after suffering a serious lull in the last few years.
After the Ethiopian millionaire pulled the plug on the sponsorship which he had done for 3 years running and the non-committal nature of the Rwandese president Paul Kagame who had helped mould the championships in the late 1990s and early 2000s. As one Nicholas Musonye, the Secretary-General of CECAFA noted, this couldn’t have come at a better time. With the World Cup coming to Africa in 2010 (that’s if South Africa doesn’t jeopardize its chances), the region badly needs a tournament to play to be able to compete with other countries on the continent. The incentive though small goes a big way in helping bring together the teams most of which have had dismal pasts in the continental challenge.
I’ve always advocated for greater involvement from major corporates in the region. This is a wake up call again and again. With the countdown for SA 2010 on, I can assure you this ain’t the last we hear of them big boys throwing some few bucks towards the game. But who minds anyway?