Pan-regional Latin American pay-television broadcaster DirecTV is understood to have acquired rights for English Premier League football in a three-year deal from 2013-14 to 2015-16. The deal covers all Latin American territories except Brazil.
DirecTV is thought to have faced strong competition from, among others, Disney-owned sports broadcaster ESPN and News Corporation’s Fox, who bid jointly, the IMG Media agency, and Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim, who owns telecommunications company América Móvil.
It is understood that DirecTV is paying significantly more than the fee paid by pan-regional pay-television Fox in the current cycle for Latin American rights including Brazil. Fox pays $7.3 million (€5.7 million) per season, in a deal covering 2010-11 to 2012-13.
Meanwhile, the Premier League confirmed today that ESPN and Fox had jointly acquired rights in Brazil for the next cycle. The deal, which was first reported by TV Sports Markets on Friday (TV Sports Markets 16:19), will also run for three years, from 2013-14 to 2015-16, and will cover all 380 matches per season.
“We are extremely pleased that Fox Sports and ESPN have once again invested in our live rights in Brazil,” Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore said.
The deals conclude the Premier League’s rights sales process in the Americas, following agreements in the US with the NBC network, in Canada with pay-television broadcasters Rogers Sportsnet and TSN, and in the Caribbean with pay-television broadcaster Sportsmax.
More detail and analysis of these deals will follow in the next issue of the TV Sports Markets newsletter, out on November 9.