Fox, in which Rupert Murdoch owns a 49-per-cent stake, beat long-term incumbent ESPN for the Latin American rights outside Brazil for the Champions League and Europa League from 2009-10 to 2011-12.
With deals in the US, Brazil and Canada set to be announced this week, after talks at the Sportel Miami conference, total rights fees across the Americas for the two competitions are set to generate an estimated $35 million a year, more than double what is generated in the present three-year period.
The Fox-ESPN rivalry is stretching outside Latin America, with both battling it out in the US and Canada as well. The rivalry is good news for other European football rights-holders, such as the English Premier League and Germany’s Bundesliga. DFL Sport Enterprises, the in-house agency selling the Bundesliga international rights, is close to a new deal while the Premier League is expected to come to market in the summer.
Meanwhile Gol TV extended its deal with the Mediapro agency for Spain’s La Liga rights in the US and Canada for another three years, from 2009-10 to 2011-12.
For more information on all these deals and other sports deals in the Americas, buy a copy of TV Sports Markets’ latest report, TV Sports Rights in the Americas. For more information, click here