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, Nigerians have been scrambling for alternative ways to watch the continent’s biggest football competition.
It was earlier reported that MultiChoice, owner of Cable platform DSTV, last week announced that it will not broadcast the 2023 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) on SuperSport (SS), after failing to secure a broadcast rights agreement with the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
The loss of rights to AFCON is a significant blow to MultiChoice, with the media giant having broadcast every edition since 1992, reports The Nation.
The tournament which was scheduled to hold in 2023, was postponed due to extreme weather conditions in Ivory Coast and will kick off from January 13 to February 11, 2024.
Here are other channels for Nigerian fans to watch live matches from the 2023 AFCON.
1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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 the 2023 AFCON, excluding the Middle East, North Africa region, and sub-Saharan Africa.
4. 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.
5. X (formerly Twitter) Sport Influencers
Some X influencers usually share streaming links with their followers on the platform.
You can easily search for AFCON live matches and you will get some results of ongoing matches.
6. 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.
