http://espnmediazone.com/us/press-r...portes-unveils-new-initiatives-for-2012-2013/ This September, ESPN Deportes becomes the exclusive Spanish-language TV home of the UEFA Europa League in the U.S. For the next three seasons, ESPN Deportes will air more than 60 matches per season, along with complementary news and information studio programming.
Counting up all the available time slots to try to come up with "60 matches": Group Stage Match Days 1-4 (Thursdays): Live matches at 1pm ET and 3:05pm ET, delayed match at 5pm ET - 12 Group Stage Match Days 5-6 (Wednesdays and Thursdays): Live matches at 1pm ET and 3:05pm ET, delayed match at 5pm ET - 12 Round of 32, both legs (Thursdays): Live matches at 1pm ET and 3:05pm ET, delayed match at 5pm ET - 6 Round of 16, both legs (Thursdays): Live matches at 1pm ET and 3:05pm ET, delayed match at 5pm ET - 6 Quarterfinal, both legs (Thursdays): Live matches at 3:05pm ET, delayed match at 5pm ET - 4 Semifinal, both legs (Thursdays): Live matches at 3:05pm ET, delayed match at 5pm ET - 4 Final (Wednesday at 2:45pm ET) - 1 Total available time slots before 7pm ET - 45 == ESPN Deportes will need to air 15 matches delayed to either Friday morning (4am ET) or Friday afternoon (12:30pm ET, right before the Bundesliga match at 2:30pm ET) in order to get to 60 matches.
No. FOX Sports Media Group is the rightsholder. English-language TV coverage will remain on FOX Soccer and FOX Soccer Plus. FOXsoccer2Go.com (pay subscription) and uefa.com (pay-per-view) will offer streaming. ESPN Deportes is the U.S. sublicensee in Spanish only. FOX presumably decided that FOX Deportes is better off airing 1-day tape-delayed Copa Sudamericana and Copa Libertadores matches on Thursday afternoons instead of airing UEFA Europa League matches that don't sell to U.S. Hispanics. UEFA Europa League is essentially filler programming. Very few "brand name" teams or "A List" players are involved, especially during the tedious group stage. == By having the UEFA Europa League, ESPN Deportes can use the "futbol todos los dias" marketing slogan: Mondays - English Premier League (12 matches) Tuesdays - English Premier League (mid-week rounds) Wednesdays - Brazilian football, UEFA Europa League (November and December), English Premier League (mid-week rounds) Thursdays - UEFA Europa League, Brazilian football Fridays - Bundesliga Saturdays - English Premier League, Bundesliga, Brazilian football, Liga Mexicana Sundays - Bundesliga, Brazilian football, Liga Mexicana
UEFA Europa League is NOT listed under "ESPN Deportes+ por ESPN3" in the press release. FOX Sports Media Group holds all U.S. Internet rights to the UEFA Europa League.
FOX Sports Media Group (FSMG) holds ALL media rights to the UEFA Champions League in the U.S., in all languages across all distribution platforms through May 2015. FSMG is NOT sublicensing the UEFA Champions League to anyone else in the U.S. Expect the same type of coverage next season during the group stage: FOX Deportes will have Real Madrid and Barcelona unless Chicharito gets significant playing time again with Manchester United. FOX Soccer will have Manchester United and either Chelsea, Arsenal, or Manchester City. FOX Soccer Plus will have the two leftover English clubs. FOX Sports Net will have Real Madrid, Barcelona, Juventus, or AC Milan. == The UEFA Europa League is filler programming, with a lack of brand names in the competition. FOX Deportes didn't want the product so FSMG sublicensed Spanish-language TV rights only to ESPN Deportes (no streaming at ESPN Deportes+ por ESPN3.com) through May 2015. FOX Soccer and FOX Soccer Plus will keep English-language coverage. Legal streaming will be limited to FOXsoccer2GO.com (pay subscription) and UEFA.com (pay per view.) == In Spanish-speaking Latin America, FOX Sports Latin America chose to partner with ESPN Latin America so that 4 matches can air live simultaneously on FOX Sports, FOX Sports+, ESPN, ESPN+/ESPN Dos. FX Latin America, SPEED Latin America and ESPN Tr3s Latin America will NOT be used. Keep in mind that UEFA sold free-to-air rights separately in Latin America to the likes of Televisa, TV Azteca, and Meridiano TV.