Business Unit News
Fox Sports Extends Exclusive Rights to Italy's Serie A Through 2012
Fox Soccer Channel, Fox Soccer Plus and Fox Sports en Español Renew with MP & Silva Exclusive Rights to Showcase Legendary Clubs Including AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus and AS Roma
Los Angeles, CA (June 09, 2010) – Fox Soccer
Channel, Fox Soccer Plus and Fox Sports en Español today
announced the joint renewal of exclusive U.S. broadcast rights
to Italy’s world-renowned professional soccer league Serie A for
the 2010/2011 and 2011/2012 seasons.
The rights were renewed through MP & Silva, an international
sports agency that owns and distributes Italian Serie A media
rights worldwide.
Featuring some of the world’s greatest players – including 75
who are participating in the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ – Serie A
matches are showcased prominently across all three Fox networks.
Fox Soccer Channel’s extensive English language coverage
includes up to three live matches each weekend in high
definition* - one on Saturdays and two on Sundays - as well as
midweek fixtures (when scheduled). Meanwhile Fox Soccer Plus has
one exclusive Saturday and one exclusive Sunday English language
window per week, also in high definition*. Fox Sports en Español
features exclusive Spanish language broadcasts of a minimum of
three live matches each week during the Serie A season, which
runs from August through May.
“Serie A features some of the most competitive soccer in the
world with many of Europe’s most successful clubs,” said David
Nathanson, General Manager of Fox Soccer Channel and Fox Soccer
Plus. “This renewal of our long standing partnership with Serie
A represents our continued commitment to delivering the world’s
greatest soccer competitions across our portfolio of networks
year round.”
“In recent years we’ve seen a tremendous growth of interest for
Italian soccer within United States,” said Carlo Pozzali, CEO of
MP & Silva America. “We are so glad to continue our partnership
with Fox, a leading media group capable of guaranteeing
tremendous exposure for Serie A games through its English and
Spanish language networks.”
Fox Soccer Channel and Fox Soccer Plus combined will air
approximately 187 games in high definition per season. Fox
Sports en Español also has access to 187 matches per season. All
three networks also retain the rights to weekly 30-minute Serie
A preview and review shows. In addition, a selection of live and
on-demand Serie A matches will be streamed each week through Fox
Soccer Channel’s broadband video service
Foxsoccer.tv.
Serie A includes some of the best known soccer clubs in the
game, including current UEFA Champions League title-holder Inter
Milan and its arch-rival AC Milan, which has captured more
international trophies than any team on Earth. Inter is the
five-time defending Serie A champion, while Juventus has
captured a record 27 Scudettos. Historically, Serie A has
produced the highest number of European Cup finalists (26) and
the most victories in the competition (12). The league began
operating in its current format in 1929.
Serie A players participating in the 2010 FIFA World Cup™
include Samuel Et’o, Walter Samuel, Julio Cesar, Maicon, and
Diego Milito (Inter Milan), Gianluca Zambrotta, Andrea Pirlo and
Oguchi Onyewu (AC Milan), Fabio Cannavaro, Felipe Melo and
Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), Edinson Cavani (Palermo) and
Alberto Gilardino (Fiorentina). Additionally, more players have
won the coveted Ballon d'Or (European Footballer of the Year
award) while playing for a Serie A club than any other league in
the world.
*Where available
About Fox Soccer Channel
Fox Soccer Channel offers the most comprehensive coverage of
world-class soccer available in the United States, serving as
the primary television destination for coverage of England’s
Barclays Premier League and the UEFA Champions League. Matches
from Major League Soccer, Italy’s Serie A, Women’s Professional
Soccer, the Argentine First Division and the Australian Hyundai
A-League are also featured prominently, in addition to such
global tournaments as the English FA Cup, FIFA Club World Cup
and CONCACAF Champions League™. The Official Broadcast Partner
of the United States Youth Soccer Association, Fox Soccer
Channel also televises the United Soccer Leagues and NCAA
Division I college men’s and women’s soccer. The Nielsen-rated
channel, available to service providers in high-definition,
reaches more than 36 million cable and satellite households
nationwide. For more information, visit America’s most visited
online soccer destination at
foxsoccer.com.
About Fox Soccer Plus
Fox Soccer Plus is a premium network intended to complement Fox
Soccer Channel by providing the best international sports
experience in high-definition. Live, exclusive soccer matches
from the best leagues in the world include England’s Barclays
Premier League, the UEFA Champions League, England’s FA Cup,
Coca-Cola Championship, Carling Cup and England Men’s National
Team as well as Italy’s Serie A. Fox Soccer Plus also delivers
premium rugby from the Magners League, SANZAR, Guinness
Premiership and Heineken Cup among other competitions. For more
information, visit
foxsoccerplus.com.
About Fox Sports en Español
Reaching nearly 18 million cable and satellite households in the
country, of which more than 5 million are U.S. Hispanic
Households, Fox Sports en Español is the leader in
Spanish-language sports media. The network features premier
soccer programming with exclusive coverage of the top leagues
and tournaments in Latin America and Europe; coverage of the
Major League Baseball regular season, All-Star Game, National
League Championship Series and World Series; championship boxing
and UFC ® and mixed-martial arts across four compelling media
platforms. With more than 2,100 hours of live and exclusive
programming, a robust web site brimming with streaming video and
portable content from FSE Movil, Fox Sports en Español is the
first name in the U.S. Hispanic sports space.
Fox Sports en Español, a network within the FOX Sports Media
Group, is distributed by Fox Networks Group and operated by Fox
Pan American Sports LLC, an international sports programming and
production entity jointly owned by HM Capital Partners, LLC and
News Corporation's (NASDAQ: NWS, NWSA; ASX: NWS, NWSLV) Fox
Sports International. For more information, visit Fox Sports en
Español online at
foxsportsla.msn.com.
About MP & Silva
MP & Silva is a leading international sports agency that owns,
manages and distributes television and media rights to some of
the most prestigious sporting events, including Italy’s top
professional football league, Serie A. The company operates
worldwide through offices in Singapore, Miami, Milan, Monte
Carlo, Dublin, Tokyo, Dubai and New York.
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Contact:
Fox Soccer Channel Contacts:
Chelsea Hettrick, mPRm Public Relations, 323.933.3399 ext.4261,
chettrick@mprm.com
Ben Alkaly, Fox Soccer Channel, 310.444.8642,
ben.alkaly@fox.com
Fox Sports en Español Contacts:
Melissa Carrión. The Jeffrey Group, 212.620.4100 ext. 313,
mcarrion@jeffreygroup.com
Jennifer Serna, Fox Sports en Español, 310.444.8736,
jennifer.serna@fox.com