How Btv got English Premiership cherry

Under the arrangement, viewers of the free-to-air channel are assured of a least one live Premiership match a week. The development means that Botswana now has three channels showing live Premier League matches - Btv and the pay service duo of GTV and Multichoice. Already Btv aired its first live Premier League match - Derby against Newcastle - in the new dispensation on Monday. The next attraction is this weekend's clash of giants between champions Manchester United and Chelsea.

Besides the live matches, Btv is allowed to air a preview of the games. Btv has entered the English Premiership fray courtesy of a new arrangement where a national free-to-air broadcaster is allowed one game every week for free. In other changes, the Premiership rights for Africa are no longer sold as block. They have been divided into three blocks - Nigeria, South Africa and the Rest of Africa. Each block is divided into three packages.