South Africa's e.tv adds NBA coverage in new multi-year deal after implosion of Econet's Kwesé Free Sports.

e.tv has signed a new multi-year deal to add sports coverage of America's National Basketball Association (NBA) to its channel as well as on its Openview free-to-air satellite service.

The new NBA coverage deal comes after the implosion of Econet pay-TV division, Kwesé and its Kwesé Free Sports channel that abruptly went dark in July 2019 and was subsequently removed from Openview.

Through Kwesé and Kwesé Free Sports South African saw some NBA coverage on South African community TV stations like SowetoTV thanks to sub-licensing deals which ended because of the debt-riddled Econet's financial problems.

NBA coverage on e.tv will start this Saturday and Sunday 9 and 10 November on e.tv and Openview with the broadcast of the game between San Antonio Spurs and Boston Celtics that will be broadcast live on e.tv at midnight, with a repeat on Sunday at 17:00 on Openview's News & Sport channel.

Two NBA games will be broadcast per week on News & Sport (Openview 120), including one live game and one shown on a delayed basis.

"South Africa has an insatiable sporting appetite, and our partnership with the NBA will most certainly appeal to that," says Marlon Davids, e.tv managing director.

"Over the past few years, we have been implementing strategic growth plans that will ensure that our sports content offering across our platforms is worthwhile for our viewers.  We are ecstatic about this announcement and we greatly look forward to a fruitful run with the NBA."

Amadou Gallo Fall, NBA Africa managing director and Basketball Africa league president, says "We have always strived to make the game of basketball more accessible to our fans through participation in our sport and exposure, and we are thrilled to partner with e.tv in South Africa".

"We have seen growing interest and look forward to reaching more fans in South Africa through live games and additional programming."

The NBA starts a YouTube channel, NBA Africa, for sub-Saharan Africa; will work with Google to produce original basketball content.

America's National Basketball Association (NBA) is launching a YouTube channel, NBA Africa, for sub-Saharan Africa, that will stream basketball games as well as magazine show content and NBA documentaries in partnership with Google's streaming service.

The NBA that has struggled to get its content on South and Southern African TV screens since ESPN dumped South Africa and Africa and went dark om MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV platform doesn't have a big following in South Africa or sub-Saharan Africa but is trying to get more exposure for the game on the continent since it opened a regional office in Johannesburg a few years ago.

The NBA in Africa apparently started some type of Africa league with 12 club teams in February. An NBA Academy Africa opened in May 2017.

The NBA's NBA Africa YouTube channel will stream 2 live NBA games per week in sub-Saharan Africa of what's left of the 2018/2019 basketball championship season starting on 24 March, that will include playoffs, conference finals and the finals.

The first live games shown will be on 24 March with the Charlotte Hornets against the Boston Celtics at 12:00, followed by the L.A. Clippers against the New York Knicks at 18:00.

NBA documentaries that will be shown for instance profiling players like Nigeria's Hakeem Olajuwon and Dikembe Mutombo from the Democratic Republic of Congo. The NBA is working with Google's YouTube to provide original basketball content.

"The NBA Africa YouTube channel is yet another important milestone for the NBA in Africa and will allow more fans to access our games, live and on-demand, across the continent," says Amadou Gallo Fall, NBA managing director for Africa.

"As we enter the home stretch of the NBA season and teams fight for playoff positioning, we look forward to bringing the excitement of the NBA to more fans in sub-Saharan Africa while celebrating the NBA's rich history and bright future in Africa."

Dayo Olopade, the manager of YouTube partnerships in Africa at Google, says "From inception, YouTube has been a hub for fans to catch up on moments and coverage from their favourite sports. We are delighted to be partnering with the NBA to bring the action and inspiration of basketball to our audience in Africa."

"We hope NBA fans on the continent enjoy watching the live games and commentaries on YouTube."