Star Times signs five-year deal to show German Bundesliga

Rwandans will be able to watch the German Bundesliga from the comfort of their sitting rooms at affordable prices, thanks to Star Times Media after the Chinese company signed a five-year contract as the official broadcaster for an undisclosed fee. Previously, the German Bundesliga has been shown on Supersport on DSTV, which is under the South Africa-based Multi-Choice, but it is quite expensive for a low income earner, but now with Star Times winning the broadcasting rights, every football loving Rwandan will be able to watch it. But before the Bundesliga, which is the third best league in Europe, 2015/16 season kicks offs on August 14, Star Times will show the pre-season International Champions League (ICC) from July 11 to August 15, according to the company’s Marketing Director, Hussein Kamanzi. The International Champions Cup is an annual club association football friendly exhibition competition formed in 2013. Manchester United of the English Premier League are the reigning champions. The competition mainly features clubs from Europe and the U.S., and playing matches in the United States, however, effective this year, it will spread out to three continents, with an expansion to China and Australia. “We want to be the leading sports providers in the country so that Rwandans are able to view different sports events, but mostly football depending on their bouquet,” Kamanzi said. Asked which channels will be showing the ICC and Bundesliga, he mentioned, Star Sports Focus, Star Sports 2 and the yet to be launched Star Sports Live. He noted, “With these channels and others that we intend to introduce in addition to the local television stations, we are confident we can compete with anyone since we will have enough content to provide for our clients.” This year’s International Champions Cup will have 15 teams including defending champions Man United, Benfica (Portugal), Club America (Mexico), LA Galaxy, San Jose Earthquakes, New York Red Bull (U.S.), Barcelona (Spain), PSG (France), Chelsea (England) and Fiorentina (Italy)—these will play in the U.S. from July 11 to August 15. Three club—Real Madrid (Spain), Manchester City (England) and AS Roma (Italy) will play against each other in China fromJuly 25-30, while AC Milan, Inter Milan (both Italy) and Real Madrid will compete on the Australian tour from July 18-24. Kamanzi further explained that, “Right now, sports content is quite expensive which is why we at Star Times want Africans to be able to follow their African and other international football stars at an affordable price.” The introduction of the German Bundesliga and ICC on Star Times, follows other major football championships like the UEFA Champions League, FIFA Women Cup, FIFA U-20 World Cup as well as the Spanish Copa del Rey (King’s Cup). editorial@newtimes.co.rw