A proposal by a new company, BRnews, to acquire the international rights for Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A, the top division of football in Brazil, has been approved by the competition’s clubs, according to reports.
The deal with the CBF, the sport’s governing body in the country, is reportedly worth $137m (€31.6m/$37.5m) per year over four years.
The deal covers 18 teams from the Campeonato. Flamengo and Corinthians, two of the country’s biggest clubs, did not take part in the talks and will negotiate separate international rights deals for their home matches.
The likes of the IMG agency also participated in the auction, according to the UoL Sport news service.
Cruzeiro’s executive vice-president, Marco Antonio Lage, said that “there will be no reversal, because it was the best proposal”. He added that the contract just needs to be finalised.
Lage said that an important factor behind the deal is BRnews’ willingness to work with the clubs to distribute the rights.
The income from the deal will be divided equally amongst all of the Campeonato’s clubs.
The international rights have been marketed by Brazilian media company Globo under a deal that will expire at the end of this year.