In the spirit of its promise to bring the best of American sports to the continent, ESPN Africa has announced a collaboration with comedy character Bob O' Connor.
As part of the local brand campaign, O'Connor, the alter ego of actor Tyson Ngubeni, will lend his talents as a special American correspondent journalist with delusions of a would-be career as a professional athlete, if it were not for an injury caused by stubbing his toe at his high school graduation. He has been stationed in South Africa since 2018.
Through his humour and sporting knowledge, O' Connor will be sharing insights that will help South Africans foster understanding of American sports, both on television and social media, as well as on africa.espn.com.
With his unique comedic approach, he draws parallels between the iconic leagues featured on both ESPN and ESPN 2, and our country's own sporting leagues, all in an effort to help explain some of the facets of American sports that have intrigued audiences for years.
"This local brand collaboration with Bob O' Connor will walk side by side with fans as we kick off an action-packed year for sport on the ESPN channels in 2021," said Evert van der Veer, Vice President, Media Networks, The Walt Disney Company Africa.
"His self-deprecating humour and signature comedy style are a treat to watch, while also being invaluable in explaining American sporting leagues to viewers and fans across the continent."
Fans can catch the on-air campaign across both ESPN and ESPN 2, as well as National Geographic, National Geographic Wild, and Fox. Fans can also connect to @ESPNAfrica across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Sports fans have a lot to look forward to this year as ESPN's schedule is packed with the best sporting action from not only American, but European and other premium sports leagues as well.
Starting with America's favourite sport, the NFL (National Football League), January is crunch time as the regular season comes to an end. The post-season brings high stakes football with the Wild Card Round, Divisional Round and Conference Finals to follow.
Who will win the right to compete for the Lombardi Trophy? Who will compete in the iconic Super Bowl final event, scheduled to take place on 8th February at 01:30 (CAT) with the popular half time show?
The NBA (National Basketball Association) is now back in full swing. LeBron James and the Lakers will be looking to return to the finals and win back to back championships. The rest of the league are out to beat them and ensure that their respective franchises lift the Larry O' Brien NBA Championship Trophy.
Together with live sports programming, viewers will also be able to catch up on the very latest films, series, news, talk shows and highlights from ESPN's iconic sports documentary and studio programming throughout the year.
ESPN is available on Dstv 218
ESPN2 is available on Dstv 219
Note - All fixture dates and times are subject to change. See local listings for broadcast details.