NBCU and América Móvil team up for Femexfut rights offer

US media company NBCUniversal and Latin American telecommunications group América Móvil have presented a joint offer for the rights to Mexican national team football, according to multiple reports.

The offer from NBCU’s Spanish-language broadcaster Telemundo and América Móvil consists of television and digital rights in the US and digital rights only in Mexico, according to ESPN.com.

The rights offer put forward to the Mexican Football Federation (Femexfut) would be for the next two Fifa World Cup cycles and consist of both men’s and women’s matches.

The latest news comes after it was reported earlier this week that Femexfut is set to negotiate an extension to its deal with rights-holders, pay-television operator Televisa and commercial broadcaster TV Azteca, that could run for a further 16 years.

A process for assigning the rights to Mexican national team football was expected to be opened following the 2018 Fifa World Cup, but the Mediotiempo website said Femexfut is poised to open talks over negotiating its contracts with Televisa and TV Azteca.

Mediotiempo said Femexfut will cite a renewal clause in the deal, which will potentially lead to two separate extensions of eight years apiece.

Marcos Santana, president of Telemundo International, said, according to the Proceso website: “We are committed to further expanding our portfolio of world-class sports rights, in addition to exclusive US Spanish-language rights to the Fifa World Cup and the Olympic Games. 

“We hope to be able to make the wide experience of NBCUniversal and Telemundo Deportes available to the national team of Mexico and take it to a level never before seen in the Hispanic market of the United States.”