ESPN has reached a broad multimedia rights agreement with the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) to continue broadcasting the UEFA Champions League, the UEFA Super Cup and the UEFA Europa League in Spanish-speaking Latin America, effective 2018/19 to 2020/21.
ESPN will carry a total of 71 UEFA Champions League matches each season. Sixty-six matches from the final playoff round, the group stage, the round of 16 and quarterfinals will be exclusive to ESPN and on Pay TV. The semifinals and the final will be non-exclusive.
The deal also includes rights to the UEFA Europa League. ESPN will carry 103 UEFA Europa League matches per season—including 102 exclusive matches on Pay TV—of the group stage, a round of 16, round of 32, quarterfinals and semifinals. The final will be non-exclusive.
ESPN’s new agreement with UEFA kicks off August 15 in Tallinn, Estonia with the 43rd edition of the 2018 UEFA Super Cup.
“We are thrilled to announce this new agreement with UEFA. The renewal reflects our steadfast commitment to delivering world-class content to fans across Latin America. We have a long history as a UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League broadcaster. These competitions are the most prestigious club soccer events in the world, and we are eager to continue to build on the success we have had over the years in presenting these tournaments to our viewers,” said Tim, Bunnell, ESPN International’s SVP of Programming and Production.