Three-year deal comes after OTT media company decided against regional launch. Getty Images ESPN has acquired exclusive rights in South America for the next three seasons of English soccer’s top flight Premier League from DAZN. The deal covers Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela, but not Brazil, where ESPN already owns the rights via separate agreement. DAZN, the global over-the-top (OTT) streaming service, originally snapped up the Spanish-speaking rights in Latin America, with the contract covering exclusive pay-TV and all digital platforms, starting with the 2019/20 season until the end of the 2021/22 campaign. However, the UK-based media company decided against going live with a new product in the region after failing to secure additional premium properties and instead moved the Premier League rights to ESPN. Michael Walters, ESPN’s vice president of programming, said of the deal: “The Premier League is one of the most interesting and competitive national leagues in the world and we are pleased to have reached an agreement with DAZN. This will allow ESPN to continue offering the largest portfolio in international broadcasts of the best football on the planet.” The Premier League makes up an impressive soccer portfolio for ESPN in South America, which also includes the Uefa Champions League, Spain’s La Liga, the Italian Serie A, the French Ligue 1, the Portuguese Primeira Liga, the Dutch Eredivisie and the Belgian Pro League, as well as English soccer’s FA Cup and League Cup. The South American rights deal comes as the Disney-owned sports media giant and DAZN also do business in Brazil, where ESPN is sublicensing two Premier League matches a week to the OTT media company for the next three seasons.
ESPN has secured exclusive Premier League rights in South America for the next three seasons from DAZN. The deal will see ESPN pay a reported $US1 billion ($A1.06 billion) over five years to broadcast all of England's top flight games and is expected to be announced on Wednesday. ESPN also has the regional rights to FA Cup and League Cup matches. The media company’s football portfolio in the region also includes the UEFA Champions League and the top leagues in Spain, Italy, France, Portugal and Belgium.