U.S. Soccer, Telemundo ink multiyear media rights extension

Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Spanish-language rights for U.S. Soccer games are set to remain on NBC-owned Telemundo through 2030.

According to a report by Alex Silverman in Sports Business Journal, NBC’s Spanish-language broadcast network and the U.S. Soccer Federation have extended the current media rights agreement that will keep international friendlies, the SheBeleives Cup, CONCACAF Nations League matches through the quarterfinals, and home World Cup qualifying matches on Telemundo for the next four years. Per Silverman, U.S. Soccer secured a rights fee approximately triple the value of its initial four-year stint with Telemundo.

All told, the deal will include more than 20 men’s and women’s national team matches each year. Youth national team matches are also included in the package. Games will be distributed across a mix of Telemundo, the Universo cable channel, Peacock, and Telemundo’s other digital platforms.

Silverman notes that the extension will allow U.S. Soccer to bring both its English-language and Spanish-language broadcast rights to market simultaneously in 2030. TNT Sports currently holds English-language rights for matches owned by U.S. Soccer in a deal that is worth between $25 million and $27 million annually. Exact financial details for the Telemundo extension were not reported.

The deal adds to Telemundo’s inventory of international soccer programming. Most notably, the network holds Spanish-language rights for the FIFA World Cup this summer, meaning NBC’s Peacock will stream the Spanish broadcast of all 104 matches in the United States, while Fox will broadcast and stream the English broadcasts across its platforms.

While the inventory sold by U.S. Soccer isn’t the most desirable — it does not include tournaments like the CONCACAF Gold Cup, or the later rounds of Nations League — it does supplement its soccer-heavy portfolio which includes club matches like the English Premier League and select Liga MX games.

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