FOX Sports announced the acquisition of the worldwide exclusive cross-platform broadcasting rights to the two most relevant club soccer tournaments in Latin America, the Copa Libertadores and the Copa Sudamericana, as well as the Recopa Sudamericana.
Additionally, FOX Sports will acquire the media rights for Copa Libertadores U-20, Women's Copa Libertadores, Futsal Copa Libertadores and Beach Soccer Copa Libertadores..
The agreements executed last week between FOX International Channels (US) Inc. and the Confederacion Sudamericana de Futbol (Conmebol), authorized by its Executive Committee, comprises the next three seasons, from 2016 to 2018. FOX Sports will continue to broadcast live and exclusive in Latin America the three tournaments through their sports channel portfolio, including FOX Sports, FOX Sports 2, their Premium and HD versions, and its digital platform FOX Play.
"We're very pleased to have expanded our media partnership with Conmebol for the broadcasting rights to the Copa Libertadores, the Copa Sudamericana and the Recopa Sudamericana, the most prestigious soccer tournaments in Latin America. We will continue to focus our efforts in producing the matches in the highest quality possible, as we have been doing for several years now, making them available to all Pay TV subscribers in Latin America," said Hernan López, President of FOX International Channels.
"Conmebol's Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana -along with Concacaf's Champions League- are undoubtedly the Latin American club soccer tournaments more widely distributed in the region reaching more than 60 million households accross Latin America through our sports portfolio and FOXplay," said Carlos Martinez, President of FOX International Channels Latin America. "We are proud to have been chosen to broadcast these championships. We share CONMEBOL's longterm vision and reinforce our commitment to continue bringing them to practically every Pay TV household in the region, a reach very difficult to be surpassed by any other network," he added.
Conmebol's President, Juan Angel Napout, expressed: "Conmebol is pleased to be able to deliver to the clubs greater economic value as a result of our expanded relationship with FOX. The Copas have an incredible history. The passion and the stories cannot be invented. They are fantastic things. The Libertadores is irreplaceable, and the Sudamericana is getting stronger every year. We have been working hard to make the tournaments even more exciting, putting in place club rankings based on ten years performance. At the same time, we will now be able to give the clubs greater value for their participation. Our agreement with Fox will promote the development of clubs tournaments for women, under 20's, futsal and beach soccer. All of these efforts go hand in hand with the governance reforms that we in the Executive Committee are committed to. These measures will guarantee transparency and accountability, for the benefit of all of CONMEBOL's member associations and the clubs."
The broadcasting rights to the Copa Libertadores, the Copa Sudamericana and the Recopa Sudamericana, increase FOX Sports' already great coverage of football championships in the region, including the Italian Serie A Tim, the UEFA Champions League, the UEFA Europa League, the Bundesliga, the Spanish Liga BBVA and the Premier League (both in Brazil), as well as the matches of the Leon and Pachuca clubs from the Mexican first division and the recently acquired Major League Soccer, among other properties that make FOX Sports the number one destination to enjoy the best of the world's football.