In what is good news for soccer fans, ESPN has locked in with Fox Soccer Channel for three years which prevents the last minute machinations of last year when negotiations between the two parties went to the very last minute. We now have a three year deal which allows for ESPN2 to air early Saturday morning games and for ESPN3.com to show games on broadband. It also allows for ESPN to show games on Deportes and Mobile TV.
Here’s the press release.
ESPN Licenses Multimedia Rights to Select Barclays Premier League Matches in the U.S. from Fox Sports International for Three Seasons Through 2012-13Saturday Morning and Weekday Afternoon Matches on Two TV Networks, Broadband and Mobile PlatformsWeekday Matches on ESPN3.com, ESPN Deportes and ESPN Mobile TVESPN has reached an agreement with Fox Sports International for multimedia rights to select England’s Barclays Premier League (BPL) matches in the United States for the next three seasons, 2010-11 through 2012-13. The three-year sublicense includes up to 74 live matches each season on ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, ESPN3.com, and ESPN Mobile TV.ESPN’s multimedia coverage will kick off Saturday, Aug. 14, at 7:30 a.m. ET with the opening match of the 2010-11 season: Tottenham Hotspur vs. Manchester City, teams that finished fourth and fifth, respectively, last season. Most of ESPN’s coverage of Premier League matches will be available in high definition.Highlights:
- More than 220 live matches in three seasons across ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, ESPN3.com, and ESPN Mobile TV;
- Match windows: Saturday mornings at 7:30 a.m. (or 10 a.m. when there are no matches at 7:30 a.m.), and weekday afternoon (Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday) at 2:45 p.m.;
- For the first time, Premier League matches will be featured regularly on ESPN Deportes, ESPN’s Spanish-language U.S. sports network; ESPN3.com, ESPN’s broadband network, currently available in more than 53 million homes; and ESPN Mobile TV, ESPN’s 24-7 mobile sports television network;
- Select midweek matches will be available exclusively on ESPN3.com, ESPN Deportes, and ESPN Mobile TV.
“We remain committed to serving soccer fans in the United States by offering coverage of the best leagues in the world, and we are pleased to work with Fox Sports International to expand our rights of the Barclays Premier League in this country,” said Scott Guglielmino, senior vice president of programming, ESPN.The addition of digital and Spanish-language rights and a regular schedule of weekday matches in the U.S. reflect ESPN’s increasing commitment to the Premier League and other top-tier professional soccer leagues. Last season, ESPN2 televised some 46 league matches, the network’s return to Premier League football since the 1996–97 and 1997-98 season when the then nascent network was the English-language television home for the league’s Monday night matches in the U.S.ESPN also currently televises the Premier League in dozens of countries around the world via ESPN in the UK, ESPN Latin America South, ESPN Brazil, ESPN Caribbean and ESPN Star Sports (in India and across many parts of southern and southeast Asia). ESPN also has exclusive rights in the UK to mobile highlights for all 380 Barclays Premier League matches, for each of the next three seasons.ESPN’s Barclays Premier League schedule for August 2010 (subject to change):
That’s good stuff.
