KENYA Law and Practice Contributed by: John M. Ohaga, SC and Joy Wanyika, TripleOKLaw Advocates
2.2 Sponsorship Terms How Sponsors in Kenya Use Sport to Enhance and Promote Their Brand Sponsors obtain naming rights, shirt/kit branding, stadium branding, digital/social media integration, access to anonymised fan engagement analytics, ticket promotions, meet-and-greet sessions. How Sports Rights-Holders in Kenya Attract Sponsor Investment Kenya sports bodies attract sponsors by marketing. They package title sponsorship, official partner cat - egories, category exclusivity (eg, exclusive banking partner) and even naming rights. Federations such as Football Kenya Federation and Kenya Rugby Union typically structure tiered sponsorship models like Platinum/Gold/Silver partners. Rights-holders attract sponsors by presenting attendance data, broadcast reach (local and regional) and social media analytics. Key Terms in a Standard Sponsorship Agreement Standard sponsorship agreements include a detailed grant of rights, exclusivity provisions, IP licensing, activation deliverables, data protection compliance, morality clauses, indemnities and dispute resolution mechanisms. 2.3 Broadcasting Rights How Broadcasters Exploit Available Broadcasting Rights To Make a Profit Broadcasters exploit sports broadcasting rights pri - marily through advertising revenue, subscription income, sublicensing arrangements and increasingly through digital and streaming platforms. Free-to-air broadcasters such as Kenya Broadcasting Corpora - tion and Citizen TV typically monetise live sports by selling premium advertising slots during matches, halftime analysis and pre- and post-game program - ming, often bundling advertising with programme sponsorship and branded studio segments. Live sports command premium advertising rates due to real-time viewership and high audience engagement. Pay-TV broadcasters such as SuperSport (distributed locally via DStv) and StarTimes rely primarily on sub - scription revenue, using exclusive sports content – particularly football – to attract and retain subscribers. These broadcasters may also monetise through tiered sports packages, digital streaming applications, spon -
sored highlights, and, in limited cases, sublicensing selected matches to free-to-air channels to maximise reach while retaining commercial value. How Sports Rights-Holders Traditionally Package Broadcasting Rights To Attract Broadcaster Investment Sports rights-holders in Kenya package broadcasting rights strategically to attract broadcaster investment by bundling rights by competition, duration, territory and platform. Domestic leagues and federations typi - cally offer multi-season packages – often two to three seasons – to provide revenue certainty and encourage broadcaster investment in production infrastructure. Pay-TV rights are usually granted on an exclusive basis, as exclusivity significantly enhances commer - cial value. In contrast, free-to-air rights are sometimes limited to selected matches, delayed broadcasts, or highlights to balance revenue generation with public accessibility. A notable example is the multi-season broadcast arrangement between Football Kenya Fed - eration and StarTimes for coverage of the FKF Premier League, which involves exclusive pay-TV rights struc - tured over multiple seasons following a commercial negotiation process. National team matches involving Harambee Stars have, at times, been shared between pay-TV and free-to-air broadcasters such as Kenya Broadcasting Corporation to ensure wider national reach while preserving commercial arrangements. The Use of Licences to Access Venues and How Intellectual Property Rights in the Broadcast Are Dealt With Access to venues for broadcasting purposes is typical - ly governed through production and access licences granted by the sports rights-holder to the broadcaster. These licences regulate camera positions, commen - tary facilities, technical areas, branding control and security compliance, and are distinct from the core media rights agreement. The broadcaster is usually responsible for production costs, insurance and com - pliance with stadium regulations. Intellectual property rights are addressed contractually in light of the Copy - right Act (2001). While a sporting event itself is not protected as a copyrighted work, the broadcast signal and the audiovisual production created by the broad - caster constitute protected works. As a result, con - tracts typically provide that the rights-holder retains
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