StarTimes need to popularize Bundesliga

It’s not a secret that the English Premier League is probably the most popular domestic football (soccer) league in the world, or at least in Africa and Asia, and it would take years of trying and much more money if anyone else is ever going to overtake it. For those who did not start following European football 10 or 15 years ago, and before the ‘coming’ of the Premier League to our television screens in the early 1990s, or to put it precisely in 1992, the Germany league (Bundesliga) dominated those black and white TV sets, thanks mainly to that very popular program, ‘Football Made in Germany’. Football Made in Germany was a program that ran from 1976 until 1988, but also continued to run replayed programs through the early 90s—the one-hour show focused on highlights of games involving German (West) Football Association teams and select international and European Cup games. With this program, many Africans, who had access to TV, were able to follow or at least learn about German football in particular until the coming of satellite TV that came with it the English Premier League and later, other leagues like Italian Serie A and the Spanish La Liga. What makes the English Premier League more popular is mainly because of the way it is marketed worldwide due mainly to the large sponsorships deals, and the success of foreign players in the EPL. Prior to late 1990 and early 2000s, and given Rwanda’s Francophone background, most Rwandans, especially those living within the country’s borders, knew little about other European league apart from the French Ligue 1. When I first came to Rwanda in 1998, most football fans here supported either Olympique de Marseille, PSG or Girondins de Bordeaux, reason being, the French league was the more accessible thanks to Canal Sports and other funny French channels. But all that has changed with time thanks to DSTV (Super Sport) and now everyone either supports Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea and even small clubs like Manchester City are also starting to get followers—not that English clubs are the best but because people these days have more access to EPL matches than any other league. Which brings me to the top of this article, can StarTimes popularize Bundesliga the way Super Sports has done with the English Premier League and make Rwandans take it in their heart of hearts? The Chinese-owned pay tv signed a five-year contract to become the official broadcaster of the German topflight league in Africa, which is a very good start but it can’t afford to stop at that and assume people would automatically become addicted. StarTimes still have a very long way to catch up with Dstv in terms of viewership, first because they are still new on the market and secondly, the later have roots already firm in most corners of the continent and that coupled with EPL to which football fans are addicted. DSTV can afford to lose both the Bundesliga and Serie A and still dominate the African market, leaving the onus on StarTimes to play their cards right by way of getting more aggressive in terms of marketing their products but also improve the quality of their content. Unlike DSTV, which many low income earners find quite expensive to afford in their homes, StarTimes have a good starting point with the number of clients the already boost of. Therefore, it’s upon them to ride on this advantage and make sure they put in place a clear strategy that would make their clients not only fall in love with the Bundesliga but most importantly making sure that they don’t miss any game regardless of which is playing, the same way Super Sport does it with the EPL.

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StarTimes need to popularize Bundesliga