MEDIA BLACKOUT
One of the issues that has plagued the league has been the inability of its organisers to hammer out a working broadcast strategy, a failing that has impeded not only its commercial potential, but its sporting progress.
In August 2013, the LMC announced it had signed a four-year television rights deal with satellite broadcaster Supersport from 2015 to 2019. The deal was reported to be worth $34m, of which Supersport paid a two-year advance of $4m as a sweetener to fund the running of the league.
In 2017 though, two years shy of the expiration of the contract, Supersport announced it was pulling out of the agreement, ostensibly as a consequence of the prevailing economic situation in the country. The naira suffering against the dollar, combined with the absence of return on investment – the LMC were apparently not doing enough to market the league and drive viewership – meant it was not expedient for the partnership to continue.