Telemundo reportedly set to acquire Spanish-language rights to Serie A

Telemundo is reportedly on the verge of a three-year deal to acquire the Spanish-language rights to Serie A, as the television network continues to add European soccer rights. The news comes from a report in Sports Business Journal.

The Spanish rights for Serie A were previously split by DAZN and Fox Deportes. The English rights are currently with CBS Sports as part of a one-year extension signed before this season.

The extent of the deal, including the breakdown of linear matches and streaming details, is not totally clear. The agreements for the Bundesliga and the club competitions included streaming rights on Peacock.

For the first week of the season, advanced listings show that Inter Milan-Monza will air on Telemundo at 12:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, August 22. Later that day, Genoa-Napoli at 2:45 p.m. ET will air on Universo.

There are no advanced listings yet for Peacock. There is precedent for a linear-only deal, as Serie A’s Spanish-language deal with Fox Deportes was linear television only. It’s very possible that these matches will end up on Peacock, however, as the streaming service does not maintain the same depth of advanced listings as linear networks.

Telemundo has been on a bit of an acquisition spree when it comes to soccer since the World Cup, significantly expanding its portfolio of European soccer rights.

The network announced Spanish-language agreements for the Bundesliga beginning this season (formerly with ESPN), UEFA club competitions including the Champions League beginning next season (formerly with Univision), and recently extended its agreement for U.S. Soccer matches through 2030.

Telemundo has long held the Spanish-language rights to the Premier League.

These announcements have made Telemundo’s Spanish-language soccer rights increasingly competitive with its main competitor, Univision. That network, via its sports brand TUDN, holds the rights to the Mexico national team, the Leagues Cup, and 14 of 18 Liga MX teams. Telemundo, for comparison, shares the rights to three Liga MX teams.