Imminent Death: Why Our Top Football League Needs a Tv Deal Now!
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- February 9, 2023
Kenya’s football premier league (if not the second-tier club, too) urgently needs live tv deal for coverage to get it out of its ICU.
It seems like a long time ago, but Kenyan top-flight football was on tv, and it was a glorious period. The game grew in leaps and bounds during live continental tv broadcasts.
It’s been a blackout since, with some feeble attempts at bringing the league back on Telly. The football federation even claimed at some point to procure an OB van for production, a van no one actually ever saw.
It’s been a downhill tumble for us, and more than ever, the league badly needs to be back on our screens. It will be a massive plus for all stakeholders. Here’s why:
Added Revenue
A tv deal ensures the clubs get payouts from the broadcaster as per the agreement that gives them (rights holders) exclusive match-day content. In a league that sees some clubs offer walkovers for lack of resources for logistics, every revenue stream is an added relief for those in it.
Shirts sponsorships, one of the biggest income generators, are also much easier to land for clubs when the league is on live tv. It gives the sponsors more brand visibility than when the matches aren’t on tv.
Pitch-side branding during live games also nets additional sponsors for teams and the league. This space is more appealing to corporates with the matches constantly on television.
TV deal= Wider audience
This is given, with a tv deal, the league gets more eyeballs and a broader following. It grows interested in the matches, thus netting more fans for clubs.
The leagues across the continent and the globe have an engaging tv culture for fans where the game is hyped, glossed over, analyzed, and publicized.
This makes league stories, interesting banter, and following a constant fodder in social spaces across the country.
Easier player scouting
Electronic media is a massive platform for players to sell themselves to potential teams and business partners.
Quite a good number of players got signed after the just concluded world cup due to the visibility they got from the tourney’s coverage on global television.
Our league on tv will make scouting our players easier within and outside Kenya. It’s easier to export talent with a tv blackout if individual players have some top-notch video material.
Which is rare in our case due to resources and a good network of agents/managers.
Match Fixing.
Yes, the menace of match-fixing likes fewer eyeballs, less evidence, and less scrutiny. Beamed matches are the exact antithesis of this. More matches live, a little less daring the fixers to become.
Archives/History.
What is football without history? What is history without good reference material?
You watch other national leagues, and they have footage of matches and highlights from the mid-fifties up to date, reels upon reels of football heritage. How? The league is on tv.
The Kenyan top flight (and second-tier leagues) need to be back on tv if we are serious about rescuing and growing our game.
