TelevisaUnivision, owner of the Univision broadcast network in the United States, was unable to air a Liga MX match between Club América and C.F. Pachuca on Saturday night due to an ongoing legal dispute between Pachuca and Mexican broadcaster Grupo Lauman, which used to own the club’s media rights.
According to a report by Alex Silverman in Sports Business Journal, Pachuca cut ties with Grupo Lauman prior to this season over alleged unpaid debts. In turn, the club signed a deal with Fox Corporation to broadcast its home games on Fox’s Tubi streaming service in Mexico, while Univision would continue to air the club’s games in the U.S. Liga MX draw historically strong ratings on American Spanish language television and the league continues to get more exposure through its partnership with Major League Soccer in the Leagues Cup and MLS All-Star Game.
Saturday’s match was not distributed on either platform as a result of the legal dispute. Per Silverman’s report, Pachuca and Fox Corporation released a joint statement contending that “a judicial decision in response to legal actions taken by Grupo Lauman prevented Saturday’s match from being distributed in any territory.”
Interestingly, Univision’s sports network, TUDN, placed the blame on Pachuca for blacking out the game in the United States. The network said, “Club Pachuca unjustifiably prevented TUDN from broadcasting the match in the United States,” adding, “TUDN will take appropriate legal action for the harm being suffered by our audience and for Club Pachuca’s breach of contract.”
Whether or not Pachuca’s home matches will continue to be unavailable in the U.S. is unclear. Their next home match is scheduled for April 15 against Club Tigres.
About Drew Lerner
Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.