CBS Sports will remain the home of Italian top-flight soccer.
A day after adding the rights to the EFL, CBS announced it had retained Serie A’s rights on a two-year deal. The media rights agreement brings all 380 Serie A matches in each season to CBS Sports platforms, along with 25 Coppa Italia matches and all Supercoppa Italiana matches.
All matches will air on Paramount+, with additional distribution on the CBS Sports Network, CBS Sports Golazo Network, and the CBS broadcast network. This agreement “marks the widest distribution in the U.S of Serie A” and also will feature the most Serie A matches on broadcast TV.
Dan Weinberg of CBS said the company was pleased to renew the Serie A rights deal.
“CBS Sports platforms remain the home of Italy’s best clubs, biggest stars and world class play, and we are pleased to renew our partnership with Serie A,” said Dan Weinberg, Executive Vice President, Programming, CBS Sports. “CBS Sports has helped to elevate the popularity of Serie A in the U.S. over the last three years and the increased distribution will continue to grow the American fanbase. With our expansive elite soccer rights, industry leading live match presentation and popular 24/7 studio coverage across Paramount+ and CBS Sports Golazo Network, we are excited to continue to serve as the leading destination for European football fans.”
On Thursday, CBS announced a media rights deal with the English Football League, plucking the rights to England’s second, third, and fourth tier, along with the Carabao Cup, away from ESPN. I mused about what that deal meant for the future of Serie A in America, and as it turns out, it didn’t mean much, with incumbent CBS retaining the rights.
A year ago, CBS was “having conversations” about renewing the Serie A deal. Those conversations initially stalled out earlier this year in the face of strong demands from the Italian league, but the deal has now been done.
CBS now has rights deals with the EFL, Serie A, SPFL, NWSL, USL, and UEF. The latter package contains the Champions League, the crown jewel of the CBS soccer rights portfolio.
About Joe Lucia
I hate your favorite team. I also sort of hate most of my favorite teams.