Fox and Setanta are now involved in a period of exclusive talks with Uefa’s Team Marketing agency after offering about $10 million a year for the rights for the Champions League and Europa League, estimated to be more than triple the existing fee. ESPN has held US rights since 1994. Two weeks ago it lost out to Fox Sports Latin America for the Latin American rights.
Setanta and Rogers Sportsnet are also considered favourites to pick up the rights in Canada, beating competition from TSN, in which ESPN has a 30-per-cent stake.