SportyTV Lands NBA Rights Across Four African Markets
African sports media platform SportyTV has secured free-to-air broadcast rights to the NBA across Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa for the next three seasons - bringing North American basketball to millions of fans across the continent at no cost.
Coverage is already underway, with the platform airing Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semi-finals between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Detroit Pistons last week. For the remainder of this season, SportyTV will broadcast eight playoff games, including up to three NBA Finals matchups.
From next season through September 2028, the package includes weekly NBA Saturday games, Christmas Day matchups, the All-Star Game, selected Play-In Tournament games, and full playoff coverage through the Finals. Daily highlights and classic NBA content - featuring African legends Hakeem Olajuwon and Dikembe Mutombo — will also air on the platform.
SportyTV will distribute content across its linear TV channel, OTT platform, and mobile app.
"There's a difference between content being available and it being accessible," said Elias Gallego, VP of Media, Marketing, and Business Development at Sporty Group. "This deal closes that gap - with free NBA games across mobile, smart TVs, and digital platforms, built around how people actually watch today."
The partnershipl adds to SportyTV's growing basketball portfolio, which already includes EuroLeague coverage. It also follows the platform's acquisition of pay-TV rights to the 2026 FIFA World Cup in South Africa last month.
SportyTV enters a market where Canal Plus currently holds NBA rights across English and Portuguese-speaking Africa - a deal secured last November that sees games broadcast on SuperSport, following Canal Plus's acquisition of Multichoice.
The NBA's footprint on the continent continues to grow, with an increasingly African player base in the league. Prominent names include Joel Embiid (Cameroon-born, represents the US), Pascal Siakam (Cameroon), Jonathan Kuminga and Bismack Biyombo (DR Congo), Adem Bona and Josh Okogie (Nigeria), Mouhamed Gueye (Senegal), and Khaman Maluach and Duop Reath (South Sudan).
