Pay-television broadcaster ESPN International has agreed a four-season extension to its rights deal with the NFL American football league in Spanish-speaking Latin America.
The new agreement will run from the 2016 to 2019 NFL seasons and includes rights to pre-season and regular-season games – including the annual NFL Kickoff, Sunday Night Football, Monday Night Football, AFC Playoffs, Pro Bowl and Super Bowl.
The agreement makes ESPN the exclusive television home for Sunday Night Football and Monday Night Football throughout the region. In all, ESPN International will deliver more than 48 live NFL games to 17 countries in each of the four years of the agreement across Spanish-speaking Latin America. ESPN also retains the right to air ‘Compactos’, one-hour game cut-down programs covering up to 60 games each season.
A key addition to the agreement includes the linear television distribution of NFL RedZone, which provides coverage of all Sunday afternoon games airing between 12pm and 7pm CST. ESPN will also be the pay-television home of the NFL’s return to Mexico on November 21, when the Oakland Raiders host the Houston Texans at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.
Furthermore, ESPN will be broadcasting an array of programs from the NFL Films library including programs such as Hard Knocks, America’s Game and A Football Life.
“Renewing and expanding our rights to the NFL represents our continued investment in, and association with, flagship leagues that are fundamental to our brand and our growth,” Tim Bunnell, senior vice-president of production, programming, marketing and advertising sales for ESPN International, said.