Disney and Facebook join forces to share broadcast rights to Copa Libertadores

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Disney is not typically well known for its involvement in international soccer tournaments such as the Copa Libertadores. The same can be said of Facebook, the popular social networking site. But that’s about to change, thanks to a deal struck between Disney and Facebook to guarantee Copa Libertadores broadcasting rights.

These two major entertainment networks revealed their intention to split the broadcast rights for the Copa Libertadores. The arrangement seems to be a short-term partnership since it is only valid until the end of the tournament. But this isn’t the end for these two. The Copa Libertadores was previously purchased by Fox Sports, a joint venture between Facebook and Disney, and has non-exclusive rights until 2022.

However, this isn’t Disney’s only sporting venture; last year, ESPN, which has also fallen into Disney’s hands, was able to broadcast the Copa Libertadores after gaining regulatory approval.

Out with the old in with the new

The original contract stated that Fox Sports will have pay-television rights to the first-pick match on Tuesday and Wednesday of each match week. They’ll also be able to watch highlights and finals from any match ever played.

Facebook also has the rights to all Thursday matches, which keeps them very busy. They were able to get up to three live matches per match week before the quarterfinals. After the quarter-finals, they were only able to screen one match a week due to a lack of rights to the semi-finals and finals.

Both of these matches, including the highly awaited semi-finals and, of course, the final, will now be available on both Disney and Facebook thanks to this new agreement.

On both pay-television networks, Disney now has the ability to air up to eight matches a week. Facebook has doubled the number of matches in the group stage as a result of this new contract.

This partnership between Facebook and Disney expands their game-sharing partnership into Latin American countries where they have yet to establish themselves. This allows Brazilian sports fans to connect and interact with the championship in a number of ways. The ability to air more matches on more days of the week is one of these benefits. Not only that, but they can also double the number of Brazilian teams’ group stage transmissions for fans on Facebook.

This isn’t the only news from American media companies; WarnerMedia has announced that it will compete for the Copa Libertadores rights in South America for the next time. Not only that, but Warner will have television rights to the UEFA Champions League in Mexico from 2021-22 to 2023-24.