Fox has dipped its toe back into European league soccer several years after letting the Bundesliga walk. However, the matches acquired won’t be available in English.
Per a Friday announcement, Fox and Serie A have agreed to a two-year media rights deal for the Italian top flight’s Spanish rights. Matches will air on Fox Deportes and the Fox Sports app.
Fox Deportes will offer as many as three matches per week, with some matches receiving shoulder programming.
Serie A will be available to Spanish-speaking audiences via linear broadcasts, with FOX Deportes offering up to three matches per game week. Select matches will also feature Spanish-language pre-match and post-match studio coverage.
Additionally, all matches will be streamed on FOX Sports App. Further Serie A content, including analysis, interviews and match highlights will feature on the network’s daily sports news show Total Sports 360 and soccer debate show Punto Final.
CBS Sports retained Serie A’s English-language rights earlier this summer on a two-year deal. All matches will stream on Paramount+, with some airing on the CBS broadcast network, CBS Sports Network, and the CBS Sports Golazo Network.
Serie A’s decision to split its English and Spanish rights is interesting. NBC and Telemundo, both under the same ownership, own the English and Spanish language rights to the Premier League. ESPN’s La Liga deal contains both English and Spanish rights. Each of those leagues receives nine figures annually in rights payments, while CBS reportedly wouldn’t pay the $150 million annually desired by Serie A.