UK public-service broadcaster the BBC has acquired rights to this weekend’s final of the Copa Libertadores, the South American Football Confederation’s (Conmebol’s) leading club competition.
The 60th Copa Libertadores final will see Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club Flamengo face Argentinian Superliga team River Plate, the reigning champion, at the Estadio Monumental in Lima, Peru on Saturday.
The BBC will broadcast the match live on television on its BBC Two channel, while it will also be streamed via the iPlayer service. Coverage will commence from 7:45pm GMT.
Rights to the 2018 final between River Plate and fierce rivals Boca Juniors were held by subscription broadcasters BT Sport and Premier Sports (which offered coverage on free-to-air channel FreeSports).
Meanwhile, pay-TV broadcaster Canal Plus has acquired the exclusive rights to the game in France with its coverage starting at 8:55pm (CET) on Canal Plus Sport. Rights to the 2018 tournament were held in France by the Altice-owned subscription broadcaster RMC Sport.
Broadcast rights to the competition are sold by FC Diez Media, the joint venture between the IMG agency and media company DAZN Group. The pair’s minimum guarantee deal for worldwide broadcast and sponsorship rights is worth an average of $350m (€311.2m) per season from 2019 to 2022.
Earlier this month, Conmebol was forced into a late switch for the host of the final. Santiago’s Estadio Nacional was due to host the final, but escalating protests in the Chilean capital led Conmebol to reassign hosting rights.