UGANDA Law and Practice Contributed by: Timothy Kajja, Nanyonjo Janet Pheobe and Jolly Kibalama, Engoru, Mutebi Advocates
same challenge applies to other international sports products such as the English Premier League and the FIFA World Cup. In practice, broadcasting rights are typically licensed exclusively to a major broadcaster within a given terri - tory, who then distributes the content to the public via television subscriptions. Subscribers usually access this content through TV or mobile streaming. How - ever, since the COVID-19 period, illegal streaming has sharply increased. Rights holders have attempted to curb this rise, but with minimal success. The situation is even more severe for live‑audio broad - casts. Many radio stations transmit major sports events without acquiring the necessary licences. Because the protection of such broadcasting rights is territorial, and enforcement often depends on the presence or involvement of local rights holders, safe - guarding these rights becomes difficult in practice. Discovery Sports Limited (DSL) was the first entity to acquire exclusive live‑audio broadcasting rights for the English Premier League in Uganda. Despite DSL’s engagement with stakeholders to promote respect for these rights, compliance remained low. DSL ultimately filed a case before the High Court, and proceedings are ongoing. The dispute centres on the protection of the EPL live‑audio broadcasting rights in Uganda. DSL, as a licensee of talkSPORT, holds the exclusive rights in the territory, yet several radio stations con - tinue to broadcast EPL matches without authorisa - tion. Through this case, DSL seeks to halt the ongoing violations. Local sports leagues, meanwhile, jointly trade their broadcasting rights through clubs and relevant sports federations. Only a few of these arrangements gener - ate significant revenue, the most notable being the agreement between the Uganda Premier League and StarTimes Uganda. However, this deal has faced repeated strains, leading to several game weeks with - out televised coverage due to disputes among the federation, some clubs, fans, and the broadcaster. For now, relations appear to have stabilised. In other instances, some federations grant their broadcasting rights to media houses without receiv -
ing monetary compensation. The justification for such arrangements is the promise of increased visibility to attract fans, along with more media exposure that could later support negotiations for stronger spon - sorship deals. There is also a growing trend of private vloggers and Over‑The‑Top streamers on platforms like YouTube and TikTok. These individuals often use simple devic - es, such as mobile phones, to stream live games to their online audiences. Although this is technically a violation of broadcasting rights, enforcement is rare. This is partly because such unauthorised streams can still offer value by increasing fan reach and engage - ment. At present, there are no stand‑alone proprietary rights in sports events as such. Even key individuals who attend these events have limited privacy rights because they are in public spaces with large crowds and extensive camera installations. Nonetheless, the contractual relationship between fans and event organisers governs the interactions between attendees and organisers. One of the key terms typically included in these agreements is that individuals are not permitted to stream the events without prior clearance from the organisers. This restriction is reinforced by the National Sports Act, which prohibits the capturing of moving or still imag - es at sports events for commercial purposes without authorisation from the relevant sports federation. Other general laws on public health and safety – such as those relating to venue cleanliness, food safety, structural integrity, security checks, restrictions on smoking in public spaces, and the prohibition of hoo - liganism – continue to apply at sports events. 3. Sports Events 3.1 Proprietary Rights and Event Management Sports venues are generally managed by a collabora - tive team comprising league organisers or the respon - sible federation, the hosting clubs, venue owners, security agencies including the Uganda Police Force,
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