Paramount recently secured broadcast rights to the Copa Libertadores in Brazil and South America for the 2023-2026 cycle.
In the CONMEBOL club competition tender for South America, Paramount was the largest buyer, alongside Disney-owned sports media powerhouse ESPN. According to the Brazilian media outlet Uol, the new agreements will generate US$1.14 billion in total revenue for CONMEBOL from its club competition rights across Brazil and the Spanish-speaking Latin America (LATAM) territories, an increase of US$350 million over the previous cycle.
In addition to the Paramount+ streaming platform, reports in South America reveal that the media company’s Telefé and Chilevisión channels, as well as the Pluto TV streaming platform, will broadcast live Copa Libertadores matches in LATAM.
Meta, the social media giant, has changed its sports broadcast rights strategy since agreeing to the previous rights deal with CONMEBOL in 2018. Globo secured FTA Copa Libertadores rights, including the competition’s final, in Brazil after settling a disagreement with CONMEBOL over the 2019-2022 deal last October by paying a US$44 million fine. ESPN took the first-choice pay-TV package in Brazil, which also includes the championship game, keeping the contract it acquired following Disney’s takeover of Fox in 2019.
ESPN has retained the pay-TV rights to the Copa Libertadores in LATAM, but local reports indicate that Disney will need to sublicense that arrangement in Argentina and Chile. The Fox Sports networks owned by Disney in Argentina have been sold to the Spanish media company, Mediapro. According to sources, both Brazilian media conglomerate SBT and internet behemoth Amazon bid unsuccessfully on several Copa Libertadores packages.
OneFootball, a digital soccer media firm, has obtained highlights rights for the remainder of the season in Brazil and LATAM. SBT secured the FTA rights in Brazil for CONMEBOL’s second-tier Copa Sudamericana competition, with ESPN and Paramount splitting the pay-TV contract in a similar manner, as the Disney-owned network will get the first pick of matches.