Leopards’ Ingwe TV to air on local pay television station

By Gilbert Wandera

Kenyan Premier League (KPL) side AFC Leopards Wednesday became the first local club to launch its own television station following in the footsteps of some top European clubs.

The club in conjunction with Mwananchi Group, who owns pay television channel Zuku, announced the launch of Ingwe TV Wednesday.

The new television station will be aired on Zuku Sports and is set to hit the airwaves next month keeping abreast millions of the club fans across East and Central Africa. Speaking during the launch,  Mwananchi Group Managing Director – Programming  Hannelie Bekker said the deal will run for three years and is worth Sh23million.

The club will be paid Sh8million directly while the rest of the money will go towards production.

At the start there will be 36 episodes to be shown on Zuku Sports and will cover mostly behind the scene events prior to the club’s matches. The initial programming will start with a 30 minute weekly magazine show. Bekker further said they are happy to be associated with Leopards, which she pointed out as being an organised club.

“They have shown good organisation ever since we started this negotiations. Furthermore they also bring something interesting on the table, a dedicated and enthusiastic fan base,” she said.

 Bekker said their involvement with Leopards is one way of developing local talent in the country and comes just a few weeks  after the company forked out Sh50 million to support the  inter-colleges  basketball league.

She also clarified that this partnership does not in anyway infringe on the television rights deal currently owned by SuperSport for airing live all KPL matches.

Leopards vice-chairman Walter Onyino assured that the club will use the extra money received from Zuku to improve the player’s welfare.

“As a club, we are determined to the best welfare of our players and some of this money will go towards making their life better so that they can reciprocate by doing well on the pitch,” he said.

Onyino said the idea to start a television station is in line with the club’s target of being the biggest team in Africa and will add value to their marketing strategy.

“It is a great combination between sports and television and with this we can achieve our goal of becoming the best team in Africa,” he said.

He also announced that the management will continue to source for extra sponsorship to make the club self-sustaining.

Mumias Sugar Company Corporate and Marketing Director Pamella Lutta said they welcome the new move. Mumias are the shirt sponsors of Leopards and signed a three-year deal worth Sh60million to support the club.

“We are happy that because of our sponsorship in the past, the club has been exposed to others who want to come in and support them. We are willing to work with them,” she said.