BY ONAOLAPO RASHIDAT ADEROJU
SuperSport, Africa’s premier sports broadcaster, has secured the exclusive broadcast rights for the ITTF World Table Tennis Championships Finals and WTT Series in Sub-Saharan Africa*, following an agreement with World Table Tennis (WTT).
The agreement, which runs until December 2024, will see SuperSport broadcasting these events across all platforms in the region. This includes the upcoming ITTF World Championships Final 2023, set to take place in Durban, South Africa from 20-28 May 2023, where SuperSport will be the host broadcaster.
“We are thrilled to partner with SuperSport as a broadcast partner in Sub-Saharan Africa. This partnership is an important step towards growing the sport of table tennis in Africa and bringing it to a wider audience. The timing is even more crucial that South Africa will host the World Championships next month. We believe that our collaboration with SuperSport will help to increase the appeal and popularity of the sport in the region, and we are excited to work together to achieve this goal,” said Matt Pound, World Table Tennis Managing Director.
The upcoming ITTF World Championships Final 2023 in Durban, South Africa, marks a significant moment for the sport in the region. This will be the first time in 84 years that the event returns to the African continent, with the last edition being held in Cairo, Egypt in 1939. The historic event provides a great opportunity to showcase the growth and development of table tennis in Africa. The partnership will also cover the ITTF World Teams Table Tennis Championships Busan 2024.
In addition to the World Championships, fans in the region will also get the opportunity to witness the official professional table tennis events series, the WTT Series, which brings together the world’s top players in exciting events offering fans an unmatched experience.
The WTT Series includes WTT Contender and WTT Star Contender events, designed to mix global stars, national heroes and rising stars, WTT Champions events, featuring high-octane action with the 32 best men’s and women’s singles players, WTT Finals, one prestigious event at the end of the season with the best of the best only, and Grand Smashes, the pillars of the season gathering the best 128 men’s and women’s players with singles and doubles action.
The global distribution of World Table Tennis’s broadcast rights, including the production of WTT events is managed by Endeavor-owned sports marketing agency IMG.
With this new broadcasting deal, African sports fans will have comprehensive coverage of the world’s top players in action, and the sport’s popularity is only set to grow further in the region. Local fans can look forward to two African-hosted WTT Contender events in June in Lagos, Nigeria, and Tunis, Tunisia.
“SuperSport is delighted to have secured the broadcast rights for an exciting line-up of top table tennis action. We are especially excited and proud about the upcoming World Championships happening in Durban, which is an excellent opportunity for us to showcase the sport to our viewers in Africa . We believe that our partnership with World Table Tennis will be instrumental in growing the sport,” said Tex Teixeira, CEO of SuperSport.
About SuperSport
SuperSport is Africa’s premier sports broadcaster, producing and broadcasting local and international sport for GOtv and DStv pay TV customers across Sub-Saharan Africa. SuperSport hosts 56 channels, offering a wide selection of the best local and international sport action across a multitude of disciplines and platforms. Now available on DStv and GOtv as well as on SuperSport.com and DStv Now in 52 countries across Sub-Saharan Africa.”
