ESPN+ nets exclusive deals to bring global football to US

ESPN+ nets exclusive deals to bring global football to US
Michelle Clancy
| 14 August 2018

ESPN+ in the US has reached a multi-year media agreement for three more top-division international football leagues – Australia’s Hyundai A-League and Westfield W-League, the Chinese Super League and the Dutch Eredivisie.

espn 14 august 2018In all, more than 300 matches per season from the leagues will be streamed live exclusively in the United States on the ESPN+ direct-to-consumer subscription streaming service.

“This agreement further boosts the position of ESPN+ as the leading new platform for live soccer matches in the US,” said Burke Magnus, EVP of Programming and Scheduling at ESPN. “These leagues join a line-up of hundreds of top-division live matches from Europe and North America, along with a strong line-up of original and studio soccer programming.”

One of the top and most competitive leagues in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), Australia’s A-League has had six different champions the past seven seasons. Japanese star Keisuke Honda has recently signed with Melbourne Victory, while track & field legend Usain Bolt is currently training with the A League’s Central Coast Mariners, attempting to realise a dream of playing professional soccer.

The Westfield W-League meanwhile has featured many of the leading women soccer players in the world, including FIFA Women’s Player of the Year nominee and NWSL Chicago Red Star’s Samantha Kerr.

ESPN+ will carry up to 140 A-League matches October through April, and at least 17 W-League (Women’s League) matches will be streamed October through February. Additionally, ESPN+ will carry at least one FFA Cup match per round – the Football Federation Australia’s domestic cup completion.

As for the Chinese Super League, it’s home to stars such as Brazil’s Paulinho, Hulk, Alexandre Pato and Oscar; Belgium’s Axel Witsel; Ivory Coast’s Gervinho; and Argentinean legend Javier Mascherano. The league has paid more than $1 billion in transfer fees the last five seasons to acquire players. The amount ranks sixth-most of any league in the world, and the highest outside Europe.

60 Chinese League matches will be on ESPN+ from March through November.

As for the Dutch Eredivisie, it’s considered one of world’s top leagues for player development. Global stars Zlatan Ibrahimovic (LA Galaxy), Luis Suárez (from the league to Liverpool and then to Barcelona), Arjen Robben (Bayern Munich), Memphis Depay (Lyon via Manchester United), and more have all come through the Eredivisie. League players have attracted over $1 billion in transfer fees the last five years and the league’s net transfer spend of more than $765 million during that time is the second-highest of any league in Europe.

There will be 102 regular season Eredivisie matches (three per week, August through May) streamed on ESPN+ .
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