Fox Sports en Espanol to televise InterLiga Tournament

Fox Sports en Espanol agreed to a four-year deal with Soccer United Marketing (SUM) that gives the Spanish-language sports network live and exclusive television rights to the InterLiga Tournament from 2007 through 2010.

All matches will also be telecast by Fox Sports Latin America. The InterLiga Tournament has aired exclusively on Fox Sports en Espanol and Fox Sports Latin America since 2004.

"We are excited to extend our partnership with Soccer United Marketing and continue to deliver the finest international club soccer programming available," said David Sternberg, executive vice president and general manager of Fox Sports en Espanol. "Fox Sports en Espanol has enjoyed tremendous success with our exclusive and live telecasts of InterLiga over the past few years and this important deal further solidifies our positioning among viewers and advertisers as the only network to provide coverage of as many as four of the most important Latin American soccer tournaments."

Starting with the January 2007 edition of InterLiga, Fox Sports en Espanol will produce and telecast 14 matches each year. Television broadcasts will be complemented by Fox Sports en Espanol's Web site, and its wireless and VOD content packages.

The parties will also exchange promotional consideration and will work together on sponsorship sales for the SUM programming.

"We are extremely pleased to continue our partnership with Fox Sports en Espanol for the InterLiga Tournament," said Douglas Quinn, president of Soccer United Marketing Enterprises. "Fox Sports En Espanol provides a passionate soccer audience that embraces world-class soccer events such as InterLiga. We look forward to the continued growth of InterLiga with our partners at Fox Sports en Espanol."

Eight teams will be selected for the InterLiga tournament based on their performance during the Mexican League's 2005 fall-winter season and the 2006 spring-summer season. The top two teams will qualify for automatic berths into the 47th Copa Toyota Libertadores.

InterLiga had strong ratings in 2006. According to Nielsen Media Research, Fox Sports en Espanol's final telecast had a 3.4 national Hispanic rating among Men 18-49, while the 14-match tournament averaged a strong 2.0 rating for the same demographic.

Overall impressions among Hispanic households increased by more than 150 percent over the previous year, while viewership among Adults 18-49 and Men 18-49 rose in excess of 200 and 300 percent, respectively.

Source: euFootball.BIZ © Copyright 2006 - All rights reserved.