ESPN pounces for Olympic Games rights in Latin America

Pay-television broadcaster ESPN has acquired rights across Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America for the 2014 winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia and the 2016 summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

ESPN snapped up the non-exclusive pay-television and digital rights from América Móvil, the Mexican telecommunications company owned by multi-billionaire Carlos Slim.

The deal covers Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela.

ESPN will exploit the rights on its pay-television channels, the ESPN.com website and ESPN Play, its live multiscreen broadband service.

During the 2014 winter Games, ESPN will show seven hours of live coverage every day plus an afternoon round-up of the day’s best action and a nightly highlights programme.

The deal was announced a day after pay-television broadcaster Fox Sports acquired non-exclusive rights for the 2014 and 2016 Olympics across Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America in a separate deal with América Móvil.