Champs League TV Rights for Next Year (in US)

FOX Sports International (FSI) holds exclusive U.S. video rights (in all languages, for free-to-air TV, pay TV, internet streaming video including pay subscription and pay-per-view, and mobile wireless video delivery) to the UEFA Champions League in the U.S. through the 2011-2012 season.

Bidding for next U.S. video rights contract, for the 2012-2015 cycle, should take place by no later than the Sportel trade show in March 2012.

Unless FOX Cable were able to convince major pay TV operators (notably DIRECTV) to move FOX Soccer Channel (FSC) from the sports pack to the digital basic tier by the time the next UEFA CL rights contract goes to bid, one would have to expect FSI to be less aggressive in pursuing the renewal of the rights.

FSI did not anticipate the withdrawl of Setanta Sports North America Ltd. from the U.S. market when it outbid ESPN, Inc. for the U.S. video rights to the UEFA CL at the Sportel Miami show in March 2009.

FSI also did not anticipate the difficulty in convincing pay TV operators, notably DIRECTV, to move FSC from the Sports Pack to the Choice Xtra tier.

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I would not be surprised if FSI were to bid jointly with ESPN, Inc. so that the "1st pick" match on Tuesday were to move from FSN to ESPN2 in the next contract cycle, assuming that DIRECTV will not agree to move FOX Soccer Channel from the Sports Pack to Choice Xtra by the time the next contract were out for bid.

(In Canada, Rogers Media cut its financial exposure to the UEFA Champion League in half for this season and next season by sublicensing the rights on Tuesdays in English and French to the 1st and 3rd picks to CTV Specialty Networks, the parent company of TSN, TSN2, RDS, and RIS. ESPN Inc. holds a 33% equity stake in CTV Specialty Networks. Rogers Sportsnet and Rogers Sportsnet ONE no longer air UEFA CL matches on Tuesdays.)

Due to restrictions placed by UEFA on which companies can purchase presenting sponsorships and logo burn-ins to UEFA Champions League TV broadcasts worldwide including the U.S. market (EPL is much less restrictive compared to UEFA in that regard), I do NOT believe ESPN Inc. would want to get into an insane bidding war against FSI.

(One industry source, who was present at Sportel Miami in March 2009, told me that ESPN, Inc. sent a domestic programming executive [I am assuming SVP Scott Guglielmino] to Miami to meet with UEFA & TEAM Marketing AG officials after FSI had outbid ESPN, Inc. for the UEFA CL to see whether ESPN, Inc. could match the offer. ESPN, Inc. ultimately decided to give up the rights.)

But if FSI were to not bid for the next contract at all (because the likes of DIRECTV won't move FSC from Sports Pack to Choice Xtra so that there is no way FSI can break even without sublicensing the rights to ESPN Inc. and DIRECTV), then ESPN Inc. would end up with the rights pretty much by default.

 

I suppose we could not entirely rule out a DirecTV/GolTV joint bid either, as with the Europa League. A NewsCorp withdrawal would like make the price far more palatable to them.

ESPN probably would rather sublicense games from NewsCorp than be the master rights-holder. The Euro 2012 rights will be sold separately, and FSC would have no inherent need to sublicense Champions League games from ESPN (it's not a bad product from a TV business standpoint, but EPL + Serie A + FA Cup is their core). GolTV already sublicenses La Liga and the Bundesliga to ESPN, so I doubt they would trade back for Champions League games.

ESPN's alternative would be a predominantly ESPN3.com + DirecTV situation (it is fairly safe to say ESPN/2 would carry 2 games per round, outside chance of 3-4 via SDD). Does that work from a business standpoint, and how much would ESPN Deportes' and ESPN3.com's possible growth over the next couple of years alter that equation?

 

Never understood why almost everyone gets a hard on with ESPN and soccer. I hope Fox Soccer Channel / Sports retains the rights for CL. Fox does a much better job Soccer and with alot more Champion League games. ESPN never showed any of the CL qualifiers and showed maybe 4 CL games a week - 2 of which were live. I hated -absolutely HATED that bottom of the screen ticker - that would show the score the game even when the game was on tape delay and showing for the first time.

 

I wouldn't be surprised at all if ESPN went after rights. It would give them another place to showcase Ian Darke. I think that the most likely case might be them having 1st pick on Tuesday and 2nd on Wednesday, with FSC having opposite choice. FS+ could air 3rd choice of matches on both days. However, I could see them going after exclusive rights too, and then maybe sublicensing 2nd and/or 3rd choice to FSC. If ESPN had rights I'd think they would want the final, which they probably couldn't get if FSC sublicenses rights to them.

The great prospect of this is that it could result in Ian Darke and maybe Jon Champion doing Champions League games for ESPN US. If the production comes from the UK, I think it would be a plus because FSC's studio show isn't great.

 

Jon Champion is under contract to call UEFA CL for ITV1 in the U.K. He would NOT be available to call UEFA CL for another network on Wednesdays.

 

University students living on campus residence halls get ESPN3.com for free.

ESPN, Inc. gives away ESPN3.com to universities in order to have guaranteed access to the ages 18-25 demographic group, which advertisers target.

In contrast, FOX Soccer Channel is NOT available to residents of most university residence halls in the U.S. at ANY PRICE.

The ONLY way most university students living in residence halls in the U.S. can watch UEFA Champions League legally during the current contract cycle is via the Internet, either paying for a subscription to foxsoccer.tv, or paying on a per-match basis at uefa.com.

If I were a university student, I would want ESPN, Inc. to have the rights so that I could watch every game on ESPN3.com.

 

I did not realize that Champion was under contract with ITV. I thought that he was basically a freelance commentator who works for ESPN and Premier League Productions (as well as ITV for major events).

Anyway, if Champion isn't available, then Derek Rae would work fine as a 2nd commentator too.

 

UEFA has a minimum household clearance requirement for the UEFA Champions League, a requirement GOLTV and DIRECTV cannot meet on their own.

Furthermore, the U.S. video rights to the UEFA Champions League costs at least 5 times, if not closer to 10 times, what the rights to the UEFA Europa League are worth.

I don't see anyone being able to bid for the U.S. video rights to the UEFA CL besides FSI (which have to use FSN, FX, or FOX to meet the minimum hosuehold clearance requirement), or ESPN, Inc. (ESPN2 meets the minimum hosuehold clearance requirement.)

We will know before the start of the next season (season #3 of the current contract cycle) whether FSI would want to split the rights to the UEFA CL with ESPN, Inc.

Again, I would not be surprised if FSI were to do what Rogers Media did in Canada by sublicensing the rights to the "1st pick" on Tuesdays (i.e. for ESPN2 in the U.S.) UEFA will have to approve any proposed sublicensing arrangement.

 

Yes, that explains why a the college audience wants more soccer on ESPN, but I don't understand why everyone in general gets all excited about ESPN getting more soccer. If CL goes to ESPN, we'll get less CL games (no CL qualifiers for example) and again - that annoying ticker at the bottom of the screen.

My take ESPN = Disneynification. Disney = Evil

 

I would rather see it on ESPN because I think they would put a majority of the games that are on DirecTV on ESPN3.com, and everyone gets ESPN/ESPN2 in HD. You can only get FSC in HD in limited areas or on satellite. Champions League doesn't look very good in FSC's stunning standard definition.

 

I'm not sure that ESPN wouldn't do the qualifying games. In the past they simply weren't broadcast, I find it hard to believe that they wouldn't be part of a new contract, whether Fox or ESPN gets it. The only problem might that they could conflict with the US Open, so they might be relagated to Classic.

 

I would have no problem with FSC and ESPN sharing coverage of the Champions League. The only thing I ask is that they try and stay consistent with which tie they choose to air when they get to the knock out stage. IE If Real Madrid/Man U play on ESPN 2 on Tuesday ESPN 2 airs the return tie on Wednesday when the 2nd leg is played. There was nothing worse than when ESPN had the rights and just showed games on Tuesday where they would show the first leg of a tie and the 2nd leg didn't air on Wednesday because that was before ESPN 2 started to air games on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. FSN does it now by airing the first leg on Tuesday and not showing the return leg on Wednesday. All I ask is for some continuity and if you are going to pick up new viewers and make them care why would you show the first leg and not show the 2nd leg of a tie on the same station?

The reason why so many people want games on ESPN over Fox is because it is more likely that casual viewers will stumble on a game then on Fox. I have friends who are huge sports fans that won't think of flipping on FSC but ESPN 2 is apart of their surfing rotation. For the sport to grow it's important that ESPN has it's hands in the batter because like it or not they are the epicenter of sports broadcasting in North America. I love what Fox provides with all the coverage but it's important if that ESPN has a presence too.

 

With how heavy ESPN is promoting ESPN 3 the qualifiers if they are produced for TV/stream would likely end up on ESPN 3.

 

Cpt_K, I'm not going to bother quoting your whole post, but its not as though what you are referring to only happens in the US. In Great Britain ITV airs games on Wednesday, so anyone who doesn't have Sky doesn't get the return leg of one match knockout round. The same happened here in Canada last season with Sportsnet (a basic cable channel) and Setanta.

I somehow doubt that UEFA would go for qualifiers being online exclusive.

Also, I just remembered that the past contract that Sky signed included the qualifiers for the first time too. Before that they had to buy them seperately. This would explain why ESPN didn't air them in the past and why they are included in the Fox contract.

 

UEFA and TEAM Marketing AG only controls video rights to UEFA Champions League matches from the Playoff Round (a.k.a. 4th qualifying round) through the Final.

Rights to the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd qualifying rounds are sold individually by the marketing agent designated by the home team of each match.

Neither FSI nor ESPN Inc. had bought video rights to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd qualifying round matches in recent years.

 

The likes of FSI and ESPN are in the business of EXPLOITING the existing viewership. They are NOT in the business of "building" viewership for a niche product.

In most countries where UEFA CL rights are sold, the "1st pick" match being shown on the most widely available network is on Tuesday or Wednesday, but not both.

In the UK, ITV1 has rights to the "1st pick" on Wednesdays only.

In Canada, TSN and TSN2 have sublicenses on Tuesdays only, while Rogers Sportsnet and Rogers Sportsnet ONE have rights on Wednesdays only.

In the U.S., FSN has been assigned live rights on Tuesdays only.

(Before John Skipper became head of content at ESPN Inc. in 1995, ESPN2 had UEFA CL on Tuesdays only plus the final. Setanta Sports USA had the rights to the 1st pick on Wednesdays via a sublicense.)

Reasons:

1. Switching back and forth between Tuesday and Wednesday would be too disruptive for the networks involved. Sponsors would also prefer to buy a package for either Tuesday or Wednesday instead of alternating between Tuesday or Wednesday from week to week.

2. By sticking with either Tuesday or Wednesday, the most widely-distributed network would get one leg while the less widely-distributed network would get the 2nd leg. That's what the networks themselves want.

 

The flaw in your point is that ESPN had the CL games for 12+ years before Fox - if the sport didn't really 'grow' back then... what makes you think it'll 'grow' on ESPN now if ESPN shows less CL games and ESPN shows final scores on the bottom ticker for tape delayed games. And if your friends didn't discover soccer when it was ESPN just little over a year and half ago - why would it change if ESPN got CL in 2 years time?

Also CL finals last year was on FOX network TV - you can't get bigger than that.

 

Agreed. In ESPN's case, it just so happened that for the 2006-2009 contract cycle, the sublicense deal with Setanta (whether this was John Skipper's preference, increased ratings by showing mostly EPL teams with the La Liga/Serie A teams usually on ESPN Deportes, or another reason entirely) saw the latter lose all live rights to the semifinals and only get 2nd/4th pick of live games for virtually every day of the competition.

We'll see what happens. Ultimately, I don't think either FSC or ESPN is gung-ho about the rights because the advertising limitations and time-slots are not TV-friendly relative to UEFA's price. Short of a sublicense arrangement being informally agreed to in advance, both parties might try playing a little "hard to get" with UEFA to see if they can prevent any significant rights fee increase. There shouldn't be one in any case, because FSC appears to have overpaid by a significant margin for the current cycle.

 

What we had before was 2 games a week on ESPN2 (basic cable), 2 games a week on ESPN Classic (sports pack/digital tier) and the rest on ESPN Deportes (Spanish pack on up to a 2 day delay). I believe if ESPN were to get the rights again, you would have 1-2 games on ESPN2, 1-2 games on Classic, 3-4 on Deportes and all the rest online. I get that the battle here is computer exclusivity compared to DirecTV exclusivity for 3-6 live games that won't be televised live, but as a DirecTV subscriber I hope any agreement precludes ESPN3 being used.

Because if it's not on ESPN people think it doesn't matter. I love being able to have my choice of 8 games each matchday day and the fact that Deportes STILL hasn't added a SAP feature is beyond all comprehension. I understand the ESPN fascination by the Grow-the-game-istas, but I rather the certainty of FSC's broadcast schedule than the perpetual uncertainty of ESPN's. One Brett Favre of Alex Rodriguez hangnail and it'll be soccer fans that end up having to break out laptops and get more than 2 bars in signal strength.

But yeah - for the record - in ESPN's last year broadcasting they did show a Arsenal-Twente 4th round match with the promise to show the return leg the following week but that promise went away like Sean Salisbury.

I think the best bet would be a sublicense deal where FSC/FSE gets the majority of games but chips off one English and maybe two Spanish games for ESPN2/Deportes - hopefully a first choice so they won't bury it online.

It will also be interesting to see what the TV landscape will be by then. Will FS+ still be around? Will GolTV still be around? Maybe FSC will dump the CL and Serie A go hard after La Liga. Imagine an EPL Big 4 plus La Liga Big 2 on FSC every weekend?

 

While that may be good for you, not everyone can get a satellite dish and are relegated to cable. Also, I'm not sure of the totals, but I would think that there would be more people who have access to ESPN3 as opposed to satellite subscribers. I would imagine that ESPN would have a greater advantage to say to people, if they were inclined to, that they could watch one game on TV, and watch another online at the same time. I'm not saying everyone does it, but it could be a marketing pitch for them. I don't think putting the games on ESPN3 is that big of a deal.

 

How many people who have access to ESPN3 actually use it?

 

I hope it stays with Fox. They seem to show more games than ESPN did. ESPN3 don't have access to it and don't want it for that matter.

Why would I want to sit at my 17 inch computer screen and not watch my HD television?

I know you can run a cable, however, I don't want my computer next to the TV. I do not have a lap top either.

 

I love it for French Top 14 Rugby, Euro 2012 Qualifiers, the one Dutch Eredivisie match they show each week and for something different once in a while, Aussie Rules Football.

Have my PC connected to my 42" TV and it's great.