NBA touts TV deal with new African broadcaster

3:47 AM ET

The NBA is making a new play for fans in Africa by splitting with the continent’s biggest sports broadcaster and teaming up with a Zimbabwean telecommunications entrepreneur who started his first business with $75.

The NBA was set to announce Thursday that it has a new multiyear deal with Econet Media to show live games and other NBA programs on Econet’s pay TV, Internet and mobile platforms in sub-Saharan Africa from the 2016-17 season. The deal will offer viewers over 500 games a year, the NBA said, including the playoffs and finals. It also includes WNBA games.

It will see the NBA end its relationship with South Africa-based satellite TV broadcaster SuperSport. That contract expires at the end of this season. The NBA didn’t disclose financial details or say exactly how long the Econet agreement was for.

“I can tell you this is the largest partnership in the history of the NBA in Africa,” NBA vice president and managing director for Africa Amadou Gallo Fall said in an exclusive interview with The Associated Press.

Econet began life as a cellphone network in Zimbabwe, where founder Strive Masiyiwa started his first company with $75. …

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