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The broadcast industry in Ghana continues to battle with the issue of illegal broadcast of unauthorized content by many TV and Radio stations. One sector greatly hit by this menace is the sports industry where some local TV stations have been airing international sporting events without going through the process required to acquire the necessary rights for the territories they operate in.
MultiChoice Ghana, operators of DStv and GOtv and agents of SuperSport International, has secured an injunction barring Nour Vision, operators of Fly TV from airing the FIFA World Cup in Ghana as they have not acquired the broadcast rights to the global soccer fiesta in Ghana neither on Pay-Tv nor Free to Air. Checks from the official list of authorized broadcasters for Ghana for the World Cup and some other properties do not list FLY TV or Nour Vison as rights holders not just in Ghana but across Sub-Saharan Africa.
With this information at hand, Supersport through its appointed agent MultiChoice Ghana in Ghana, has instructed its lawyers to commence legal proceedings to stop Fly TV from airing the FIFA World Cup live from Russia.
According to Tony Forson Esq. legal counsel for MultiChoice Ghana, after studying the necessary documentation “we carried out the instructions of our client and successfully secured an injunction (Suit No. CM/BDC/0449/2018) on the 20th of June 2018, barring Nour Vision operators of Fly TV from any further broadcast of the FIFA World Cup until the final determination of the case”.
SuperSport Africa holds rights to major sports events including FIFA World Cup, Premier League, La Liga, Europa League, Champions League and La Liga) which are distributed by Multichoice Ghana through the DStv and GOtv platforms across Sub Sahara Africa.
According to Cecil Sunkwa Mills, General Manager, MultiChoice Ghana, “we will continue to collaborate with the necessary authorities to initiate civil suits to protect its content from illegal broadcasting / re-broadcasting and support the growth of both the local and international creative industry and talent”.
