Fox International Channels picks up MLB rights in Europe

The Fox International Channels broadcast subsidiary of media company 21st Century Fox has acquired rights for coverage of North America’s Major League Baseball across 30 European territories.

The agreement comprises rights to all MLB games, including the All-Star Game, Home Run Derby, wild card match-ups, divisional series and league championship series as well as support programming and classic MLB games.

The length of the “multi-year” deal, which covers all media platforms, has not been disclosed.

The agreement has kicked off with coverage of the ongoing 2013 World Series between the Boston Red Sox and the St Louis Cardinals.

Fox International Channels, which also recently struck rights deals with North America’s NFL and the Euroleague Basketball club competition, sealed the agreement with the Major League Baseball International division of MLB.

“FIC’s new partnership with Major League Baseball International underscores our strategy to build a premier sports rights portfolio that we can leverage across multiple territories on our different TV channels distributed in Europe,” the broadcaster’s chief operating officer for Europe and Africa, Diego Londoño, said. “We look forward to continuing to create value for our distributors and viewers throughout the world.”