FOX Sports Signs Long-Term Coverage Deal with MLS

NEW YORK: FOX Sports will be beefing up its prime-time soccer coverage after signing an eight-year, multiplatform deal with Major League Soccer (MLS).

The agreement kicks off next year and is due to extend to 2022. Through the deal, FOX Sports is slated to launch an exclusive Soccer Night in America franchise airing Sundays from 7 to 9 p.m. A minimum of 34 regular season games are set to air primarily on FOX Sports 1, featuring each U.S. team at least once per season.

Other soccer broadcasts will include FOX Sports 1 and ESPN divvying up coverage of the MLS Cup Playoffs, with the actual MLS Cup and the AT&T MLS All-Star Game alternating each year between the two channels. Additionally, FOX Sports obtains the digital rights across all platforms and devises (including its FOX Sports GO app) for the games it airs; digital highlight rights for MLS’s out-of-market package via FOX Sports digital platforms; the rights for FOX Sports Radio to transmit MLS matches; and the chance to air the MLS SuperDraft and other marquee MLS events. The network will also split equally all U.S. soccer matches with ESPN.

FOX Sports previously televised the League’s games from 2004 to 2011.

“This groundbreaking deal represents a giant leap forward in the exposure for, and the commitment to, soccer in the U.S.,” said Eric Shanks, the president, COO and executive producer of FOX Sports. “Not only are we making a significant financial commitment, but we also plan to mobilize FOX’s substantial promotional resources to raise awareness and grow the fan base for our nation’s premier soccer league and its national teams.”

“We are honored to partner with ESPN, FOX and Univision to form the most comprehensive U.S. media rights partnership in the history of soccer in our country,” said MLS Commissioner Don Garber. “The commitment from our television partners in terms of structure, length and magnitude is unprecedented, and these new partnerships are another strong indicator of the League’s continued growth and the overall fan interest in our sport.”