Following the announcement by Multichoice, the sub-Saharan African broadcast heavyweight, owner of Cable platform DSTV, that SuperSport pay-TV service will not broadcast live matches of the 2023 AFCON after failing to secure a broadcast rights agreement with the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
MultiChoice, owner of Cable platform DSTV, on Wednesday announced that it will not broadcast the 2023 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) on SuperSport (SS), leaving millions of Nigerians scrambling for alternative ways to watch the continent’s biggest football competition.
The loss of rights to AFCON is a significant blow to MultiChoice, with the media giant having broadcast every edition since 1992.
The tournament was scheduled to be held in 2023. Still, it was postponed due to extreme weather conditions in Ivory Coast and will kick off from January 13 to February 11, 2024, as 24 nations will be competing for the honour.
This means that millions of Nigerians who want to watch exciting football action from the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) will have to switch to other TV stations and streaming platforms that will be beaming live matches from this year’s AFCON.
Here are other channels for Nigerian fans to watch Live matches from the 2023 AFCON.
Nigerian Television Authority (NTA)
Nigerians can turn to the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), the country’s most prominent television station and enjoy the 2023 AFCON.
NTA has been broadcasting live happenings at every AFCON on its popular NTA Sports 24, free to air.
StarTimes
StarTimes subscribers in Nigeria can also watch all 52 matches of the 2023 AFCON live on StarTimes sports channels or stream via the StarTimes ON mobile app.
This is also another sure way for football fans to watch comprehensive coverage of the tournament.
Viaplay
Viaplay is another alternative platform for Nigerians to watch beautiful and exciting football action from the Ivory Coast.
Viaplay is a Swedish video streaming service owned by Viaplay Group, which won the 2023 AFCON rights and will broadcast every tournament match live.
The agreement sees Viaplay stream live matches for the subsequent AFCON editions – 2023 and 2025, respectively.
Viaplay will stream live in over 85 countries for 2023 AFCON, excluding the Middle East, North Africa region and sub-Saharan Africa.
New World TV
In December 2023, New World TV, a Togo-based network, secured an exclusive three-year deal with CAF to air all of its competitions, including AFCON, across 46 African countries until 2025.
New World TV has previously acquired major sporting rights, including the pay-TV rights across Sub-Saharan Africa for the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar. This might provide an option for viewers in Nigeria to watch the games.
Nigerians can also explore the opportunity to watch their darling teams on the Ivory Coast.
Betting Streaming Services
Several betting sites in Nigeria provide live streaming for sporting events, including AFCON competitions. Watching live games may be possible for registered customers on sites such as Bet9ja, 1xBet, BetWinner, and others. Users usually need an active account with a minimum balance to access these broadcasts.
Ziggo Sport
Nigerian Football fans in the diaspora can enjoy all tournament matches on Ziggo Sport, a Dutch pay-TV network.
Ziggo Sport secured an exclusive right to broadcast live action of two editions of the Africa Cup of Nations, 2023 in Ivory Coast and 2025 in Morocco.