ESPN Buys Partial TV Rights For La Liga, Well Done.
ESPN, Soccer, Television June 23rd. 2009, 2:15pm
ESPN bought the rights to televise “a significant number†of La Liga matches from GolTV next season. The WWL will show 114 matches on ESPN360, approximating the number of people able to access it, and will air 95 matches on ESPN Deportes. They will also show 20 matches in English on ESPN2.
The Spanish League does not bring the cache of the Champions League, but, for steady entertainment and audience cultivation, it could be more valuable.
La Liga is the most entertaining league to watch. Skillful players such as Leo Messi get time on the ball to flourish. Artistry, technique and aesthetics trump brutality (Premier League) and boredom (Serie A). Though Barca and Real Madrid dominate, it is competitive. Unlike the Premier League, lower level teams often try to play. La Liga won’t attract as many casual fans as the Champions League, but those that watch will return.
Spanish soccer is more entertaining, and it also could become a more valuable asset than the Premier League.
England has been ascendant, but that stems from money. Premier League debt, over £3 billion, has curbed clubs’ spending. The TV rights alone are not creating clout. Only Manchester United (Ronaldo sale and insane revenue), Manchester City (Beneficent Abu Dhabian) and Chelsea (Oligarch Cash) can spend with Europe’s top clubs for players.
The Pound has declined against the Euro, eliminating England’s competitive advantage for both transfer fees and relative salaries for foreign talent.
Spain and Italy are behind England with collective television rights at home and abroad. La Liga has an enticing product, has a language affinity with a large part of the world and, with Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo just filched the biggest stars from Serie A and the Premier League, respectively. With better and uniform marketing, there is no reason they can’t replicate the Premier League’s financial success.
If the financial impetus shifts south , so will the players. The quality of life and the scenery does not draw them to Northern England. Spurred by Barcelona and a reloading Real Madrid, Spain could easily surpass England in the next few years.
My hope is that a fostered relationship between GolTV and ESPN leads to Tommy Smyth and Ray Hudson calling a game together. That verbal cataclysm erupting would be simultaneously the most awesome and the most heinous thing to occur on the ESPN family of networks.
32 Responses to “ESPN Buys Partial TV Rights For La Liga, Well Done.”
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June 23rd, 2009 at 2:24 PM
Did they buy the chick you posted yesterday? If so, I’ll watch.
June 23rd, 2009 at 2:24 PM
hey i cant wait until this is shoved down my throat until eson realizes no on is watching and quietly moves it to espn 2 and then completely forgets it exists.
/arena football’d
June 23rd, 2009 at 2:28 PM
hey i cant wait until this is shoved down my throat until eson realizes no on is watching and quietly moves it to espn 2 and then completely forgets it exists.
/arena football’d
Good luck. ESPN bought the TV rights for both La Liga AND the Premier League.
More than likely they’ll turn one of their 8 channels into their own version of Fox Soccer Channel — ESPNFutbol or something like that.
The sport is here to stay.
June 23rd, 2009 at 2:28 PM
hey, as usual I pay no attention to the actual ratings, but just spew anti-soccer venom.
/mrejr’d
June 23rd, 2009 at 2:30 PM
I love this purhcase. I have always favored the Spanish league because it is a more fluid brand of ball. I hope they have some games in HD, though I am not expecting much,
June 23rd, 2009 at 2:33 PM
I would love them to turn ESPN classic into a soccer-based channel, which I believe TBL discussed as a possibility a while back.
June 23rd, 2009 at 2:34 PM
Any Americans play in La Liga?
June 23rd, 2009 at 2:35 PM
By play, do you mean sees the field, or watching from the bench? If just being on the bench counts I believe Altidore plays for Villareal or was loaned to someone by Villareal.
June 23rd, 2009 at 2:36 PM
either or
June 23rd, 2009 at 2:38 PM
This would be awesome, but I don’t think it will happen for a while. But an ESPN soccer channel would kick lots of ass.
June 23rd, 2009 at 2:43 PM
I couldn;t tell you why… but I like the physicality of the Premiership over the other leagues. And the English fans just do it for me.
June 23rd, 2009 at 2:44 PM
They will also show 20 matches in English on ESPN2.
I love watching soccer and am a fan, but does anyone else find it hard to get up for these matches between all these different leagues? I don’t really give two shits about Chelsea or Manchester United, but you mention the national team from England against Germany, Brazil, or Spain and my ass will be in a seat watching from start to finish. All of these different leagues have the appeal of watching Double AA baseball when you could be watching the guys in the major leagues. Those qualifier matches were entertaining as hell, and generated tons of comments, not only on this site, but in the national media as well. On the other hand, I know that appeasing the fans in the United States is the last thing on FIFA’s to-do-list.
/Just my opinion on why soccer will never catch on this side of the Atlantic and north of Mexico
//waiting for some form of the “you’re not a true fan” quip
June 23rd, 2009 at 2:44 PM
Do they have the technology to go “buzz free”? I enjoy soccer, but that shit is getting old fast.
June 23rd, 2009 at 2:48 PM
Love the idea of getting La Liga on air becuase I think it is a great product. The only worry I have is that with an EPL base already, the La Liga coverage will just further dilute fandom and reduce the chance that either of the two really takes off. There aren’t enough people who care to really support interest in two separate story lines.
Never understood why these EPL teams didn’t bind together and market themselves to individual US cities. Liverpool takes Boston, Chelsea takes New York, Everton takes DC, etc. Thats the way to get people to care. Give them some connection.
June 23rd, 2009 at 2:59 PM
I actually think that ESPN getting La Liga and Premier games may help the number of Americans that see the field for these teams. It’s more of a long term effect, but one that can’t not help US Soccer as a side benefit.
I KNOW it will improve the broadcasters that work soccer on ESPN. That is a DEFINITE plus.
June 23rd, 2009 at 3:07 PM
International soccer is more fun to watch than club soccer in my opinion. The World Cup is my favorite sporting event ever, and having been lucky enough to go to one I would suggest it to anyone.
June 23rd, 2009 at 3:10 PM
Do they have the technology to go “buzz free� I enjoy soccer, but that shit is getting old fast.
Sadly that’s South African in nature. Those are the vuvuzelas; the horns that they use at every game. FIFA has come out and said that those are the equivalent of the Brazilian samba drums and that they won’t have them removed from the games.
Which is BS. Samba drums get big-bootied Brazilian girls gyrating. Vuvuzelas make me want to rip my ears out.
but does anyone else find it hard to get up for these matches between all these different leagues? I
Not at all. It’s all a matter of what you prefer.
I’m an Arsenal fan. If they’re on, I get up at 7 AM to watch them. If not, I get up when I want and catch a game if it interests me. It’s just like college football — if you’re a UT or tOSU fan who wants to catch a PAC-10 or Big East game, you might do it.
Another thing I do like: by noon, the game is done and I can go about my day. Too many days I’ve gotten up, caught the Arsenal game, switched to my NFL game and had a sports-filled weekend.
June 23rd, 2009 at 3:11 PM
i cant get 360 or deportes so I get 20 of 200 games .. awesome.
June 23rd, 2009 at 3:18 PM
I just hope they actually send some commentators to the games, rather than calling them from Bristol. I think that it’s absolutely ridiculous that they don’t for the games they already show.
June 23rd, 2009 at 3:30 PM
Theres another factor that could help La liga become as popular, if not more, than England.
Taxes.
There was an article recently after Ronaldo transferred, that there is a new law, or will be a new law that will essentially tax soccer players at 50%. Spain ont he other hand, has much less stringent tax laws. They were saying that over the course of his contract, ronaldo will make an extra like $10million due to paying less taxes.
I love la liga, and am really glad we’ll get more games. It will open up people to different types of soccer. The games played in england are so different from italy and spain.
Concerning National vs Club, I understand why people are more attracted to international soccer, its the whole patriotic, country v country deal, but if you’re a soccer fan, club soccer is so much better. Players train together everyday for jsut about 10 months out of the year. Personally I think it leads to prettier soccer, regardless of the style being played.
To anyone that thinks this is just an experiment for ESPN, if you haven’t noticed soccer’s taken a larger presence on the .com as well as the ticker on the bottom of the screen. ESPN has been clamoring for EPL rights in England for a while, as they want to take on SKY sports as THE sports channel over there. Their experience with the champions league only cemented the fact that soccer will fill programming slots that are otherwise wasted (early weekend mornings and early afternoon) bring in more viewers, and make their programming that much stronger. You don’t have to like soccer, but unfrotunately for those people, it’s about to get a lot more relevant.
June 23rd, 2009 at 3:57 PM
look at duffy with the jokes
June 23rd, 2009 at 4:53 PM
duffy, your blind hate for the EPL is hilarious.
June 23rd, 2009 at 4:56 PM
United DO have over a billion dollars in debt you know.
Eh. The EPL has the world’s best defenders by a long stretch, but it doesn’t make for the most entertaining games some times.
June 23rd, 2009 at 4:59 PM
Considering ESPN has two channels in England and only one of them shows live sports, I’d say Sky isn’t worried even remotely. And while they did get Setanta’s rights, starting the season after this it’s the package that only will have games two thirds of the season.
June 23rd, 2009 at 4:59 PM
your right, i guess im biased towards England. But, I don’t give a shit about a 6-3 soccer game, I’d rather watch a 2-1 game that is actually close start to finished and the whole team actually has to work on defense to win.
June 23rd, 2009 at 5:07 PM
Listen just because you get to watch United games where they give up a goal because their keeper is insanely overrated, then the other team eventually lays down and lets in two injury time goals, doesn’t mean that the rest of the league doesn’t see all the games where the bottom half of the league park the bus against any team not named United.
June 23rd, 2009 at 5:08 PM
No, what is hilarious is the frequency with which blog commenters make extreme, illogical generalizations. Normally, I get characterized as an EPL homer. Now, I make one critical comment and I have blind hate?
I enjoy the EPL. That doesn’t mean I need to drink the koolaid and pretend that a Bolton-Sunderland match is worthwhile viewing.
June 23rd, 2009 at 5:13 PM
The problem with the Premier League is thus.
6 or 7 teams at the bottom don’t make a pretense of playing. They kick and scrape to avoid relegation.
Mid-level teams emulate lower level teams when they come up against the top four teams.
The top four teams don’t try to play each other either.
It’s all very predictable. The only really exciting matches (and they generally are exciting) are the derby matches, because teams go all out to try to win.
June 23rd, 2009 at 5:15 PM
You forgot ‘SAF has the FA in his pocket.’
June 23rd, 2009 at 5:16 PM
that game is worthwhile viewing to me.
June 23rd, 2009 at 5:21 PM
Yea exactly like the NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB, where the bottom teams tank at the end of the year to get a good draft spot.
Not like the EPL where you fight to get all those millions of dollars to stay up.
June 24th, 2009 at 12:56 AM
Finally a post by Ty Duffy, which did not homer the EPL again, with which I agree. Great work Ty and hope the rest of your holiday in Italy goes just as well or better.