Advanced Television

AFL T20 cricket on Recast

March 24, 2021

Cricket’s new T20 competition – the Dafabet African Premier League (APL) – will be shown exclusively to UK viewers through sports broadcasting platform Recast.

The new six-team APL ­– which aims to be the premier T20 league on the African continent within four years – will be played in Nairobi from March 25th to April 10th and will feature 33 live matches, streamed directly and exclusively, to fans in the UK.

The APL will be the first live tournament to be broadcast on the platform, which launched in beta earlier this year and follows on the heels of other pioneering rights’ holders who are going direct-to-consumer on Recast, including Hibernian FC and the World Parkour Championship.

Teams contesting the league, which will be played at Nairobi’s Ruaraka Sports Club, are Mombasa Rhinos, Eldoret Elephants, Nairobi Lions, Kisumu Pythons, Nakuru Leopards and Thika Hippos.

The APL is run by the NPCA (Nairobi Provincial Cricket Association) in partnership with India-based production company Dreamcatchers and organisers are delighted UK audiences will be able to tune in and enjoy the action.

Puneet Gautam, Dreamcatchers Director, said: “This is a tremendous story for the Dafabet African Premier League. It is a privilege to be the first, full tournament, broadcast live by Recast. The team at Dreamcatchers are excited to join Recast, which we believe is the perfect platform to give a UK audience direct, unrestricted and affordable access, to watch the  inaugural APL.”

Melissa Payne, Blonde Ambitions Founder (UK distribution partner) and Dafabet African Premier League Board Member, added: “This was an easy decision for us to broadcast the APL via Recast, considering Recast allows us to go direct-to-consumer without any costs associated with building our own OTT platform, whilst effectively monetising viewership through microtransactions. This is a partnership that extends far beyond the inaugural event.  We are very much looking forward to working together to grow the League and build a fanbase both here in Africa and across other markets.”

Andy Meikle, Founder and CEO at Recast, said: “The APL is an exciting competition with both ambitious plans and significant potential, we’re therefore delighted to bring it exclusively to a cricket loving, UK wide audience. I’m particularly excited as the APL will be one of the first major events streamed live on Recast. It will be easy to access, with no up-front or ongoing subscription costs to fans. Instead they are able to pay for what they want to watch, when they want to watch it, as well as having the opportunity to earn our in-app credits, which subsidises or removes viewing costs. We’re seeing significant changes across the industry of sport and the reality is that the vast majority of rights’ holders don’t have lucrative broadcast deals in every territory worldwide. This is a perfect example of how Recast  provides rights’ holders with a means of taking their content directly to the consumer without any costs to them,  whilst maximising reach and revenue generation for the sport.”

 

Viewers that watch the APL matches on Recast will also have the chance to win a slice of sporting history. Every viewer will be entered into a draw to win digital moments from the series including the first ball, first boundary and first wicket, and will be authenticated with a Non Fungible Token (NFT).

Instead of buying rights itself, Recast connects rights’ holders directly to fans, allowing an exchange of value through in-app credits called ‘Casts’. There are no upfront costs to rights’ holders, athletes, or fans, to join Recast, allowing rights holders to maintain ownership of rights and flexibility over content use, unlike other traditional broadcasting deals.

The direct-to-customer platform operates as a three-sided marketplace that brings fans, brands and rights holders together in one place. Recast’s unique proposition does not purchase any sports rights, following the success of other exchange models such as Airbnb and Uber in not owning supply but generating value through connection.

Recast is already working with several high-profile rights holders and bodies using its ground-breaking technology to help maximise their earning potential from highlights, in-play clips and live events ahead of its full UK launch this year.

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