Channel Closure: SuperSport Liyu Goes Dark On June 30th On DStv In Ethiopia

For those who haven't heard, SuperSport had opted not to distribute the Ethiopian Premier League after signing a 5 year deal in 2020. As a result, SuperSport Liyu will stop being distributed on the DStv platform by 30 June.

From what I recall, SuperSport Liyu was a football channel or the Amharic equivalent of SuperSport Football offering Premier League and La Liga. With the channel taking the plunge, it's not really known whether the latter will be distributed in Amharic on other SuperSport channels.

MultiChoice which serves as the holder of SuperSport has been dealing with financial constraints and are now relying on them to get of this stigma. Earlier in the year, Canal+ did close its pay-tv operations in the regions so whose to say what's going to happen now under the merged company.

Prior to Liyu's closure, MultiChoice had suddenly put up a test card for the channel onto its transponders in Southern Africa. So either plans were underway to do some open window (which I doubt) or MultiChoice is experimenting on another TV channel with its frequencies.

It's not known if this channel will be carried in other parts of Africa, what content may come out of this or if this channel will ever be launched as seen with Via's duplicate channel.

A statement from the general manager of EPN

Speaking on the matter, the league’s general manager Kifele Seyife said SuperSport have already ended its partnership. “DSTV had a rocky financial year at South Africa. They have ended the deal with us. They have already paid their last installment of the season.”

SuperSport has showcased few league games this season so far. Pan-Africa Football understands only sixty league games will be shown live on TV this season. The league and SuperSport failed to negotiate a new deal after DSTV owner Multichoice sold many of its shares to French company Canal Plus. 

The league has now shifted their focus on securing a new broadcaster. National broadcaster Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation has shown interest and the league is also weighing an option to stream live games on EthioTele’s Tele TV.