Standard Group PLC, a listed media company, is set to pay about KSh 1 million for broadcasting live audio commentary of three English Premier League (EPL) matches without authorization, infringing the exclusive rights held by Radio Africa Limited.
- •However, the High Court reduced Radio Africa’s US$1.78 million claim, based on the value of a three-season rights contract, to US$7,815.78 (approximately KSh 1 million) after finding that the infringement was limited to three matches at the start of the 2019/2020 season.
- •The case arises from another judgment issued in September 2024, where the court declared Radio Africa the sole local broadcaster vested with exclusive rights to transmit live audio commentary of the 2019/2020 English Premier League (EPL) season in Kenya.
- •In that first ruling, the court found Standard Group’s broadcast commentary for three matches including Leicester vs Wolves, Newcastle United vs Arsenal, and Manchester United vs Chelsea was not authorized.
“The appropriate measure of damages is a prorated reasonable royalty corresponding only to the three matches in respect of which infringement was proved during the 2019/2020 season,” Justice Njoki Mwangi ruled in the more recent case.
Radio Africa paid US$1.78 million net of taxes for the rights to broadcast live audio commentary of the Premier League in Kenya for three seasons between 2019 and 2022. The company argued that this full amount represented the proper benchmark for damages.
Standard Group opposed the claim in a replying affidavit filed in March 2025, arguing that awarding damages equivalent to the entire contract value would be disproportionate and unsupported by evidence. It further argued that the agreement relied upon by Radio Africa was heavily redacted and did not disclose the alleged contract sums in full.
Standard Group urged the court to confine damages strictly to the three matches. It proposed that prevailing local market rates for similar content were about KSh 100,000 per match. Alternatively, it suggested a prorated calculation based on Radio Africa’s admitted 2019/2020 license fee of US$495,000 for 190 matches. That method produced a per-match figure of US$2,605.26 and total damages of US$7,815.78 for three matches.
The company also presented a separate prorated computation derived from its own later syndication agreement with the same content provider, Wireless Group Media (GB) Limited, which reflected a significantly lower per-match value.
