International media rights agencies Mediapro and Pitch International will join forces to sell the exclusive broadcast rights in the United States to South American nation’s qualifying matches for the Fifa World Cup 2022.
The pair will represent a total of nine nations: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru and Venezuela.
The rights include both home and away qualifiers and it is believed to be the first time a coalition of this size has sold South American rights directly into the US market.
Pitch previously held an agreement to sell rights to Argentinian and Brazilian qualifiers with Argentinian agency Torneos, while Mediapro held the rights to Bolivian, Paraguayan and Chilean qualifiers.
Rights to Uruguay’s matches are not included in the agreement as the Uruguayan Football Federation (AUF) is yet to sell its international rights for the 2022 World Cup qualifiers. The Full Play agency held the international rights to Uruguay’s nine home qualifying games for the 2018 World Cup, paying an estimated $6m (€5.4m).
Mauricio Correa, Mediapro’s general rights director in Latin America, said: “The South American qualifiers have a strong following in USA, and Mediapro and Pitch International taking a collaborative approach with the rights distribution will allow fans in the region to see more matches and benefit all of the federations involved.”
Sunil Kaikini, Pitch International managing director of rights, added: “We’re pleased to be working with Mediapro and all of the other rights-holders for what will be one of the most competitive and highly-anticipated qualification campaigns of the Fifa World Cup Qatar 2022.”
The first round of qualifiers will be played on March 26.