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- Agreement includes exclusive pay television, digital and OTT rights across Spanish-speaking Latin America and the Caribbean
- 2019 season to feature top talent from Latin America and Europe, including Carlos Vela, Federico Higuaín, Gonzalo “Pity” Martínez, Jonathan dos Santos, Giovani dos Santos, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Wayne Rooney and Bastian Schweinsteiger, among others
ESPN has reached a comprehensive multimedia agreement with Major League Soccer (MLS) for rights to MLS across all its platforms in Latin America (Spanish-speaking) and the Caribbean, effective 2019 to 2022.
Under the terms of the agreement, ESPN will carry all of the league’s 408 regular-season matches, the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs, the MLS All-Star Game presented by Target, and the MLS Cup. Games will air live on ESPN linear networks across Spanish-speaking Latin America and the Caribbean, including ESPN, ESPN 2, ESPN 3, ESPN Caribbean and ESPN Play, ESPN’s multiscreen live and on-demand broadband service in the region.
“This agreement with MLS reflects our steadfast commitment to deliver world-class soccer content to fans across Latin America and the Caribbean,” said Michael Walters, vice president, programming and acquisitions, ESPN. “We are thrilled to continue expanding our content offering and build on the success we have had over the years in showcasing marquee soccer leagues to fans in the region.”
“Major League Soccer has made a significant investment in attracting world class talent from across the Americas. This new agreement with ESPN will allow us to showcase these players to one of the most soccer-savvy audiences in the world,” said Seth Bacon, Senior Vice President of Media for MLS. “We know that ESPN’s multi-platform approach to distributing content will give fans more opportunity than ever to engage with MLS.”
ESPN’s Major League Soccer coverage kicks off Saturday, March 2, with the live and exclusive telecast of Philadelphia Union vs. Toronto FC at 1 p.m. ET at Talen Energy Stadium in Chester, Pa. ESPN’s Major League Soccer commentator team will feature Richard Mendez and Robert Sierra as play-by-play commentators, alongside legendary Major League Soccer stars Hérculez Gómez and Alejandro Moreno providing analysis.
The 2019 Major League Soccer season will feature top talent from Latin America and Europe, including:
- Atlanta United – Gonzalo “Pity” Martínez, Ezequiel Barco and Leandro Gonzalez Pirez (Argentina), Josef Martinez (Venezuela)
- Chicago Fire – Marco Ureña (Costa Rica), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany)
- FC Cincinnati – Kendall Waston (Costa Rica), Darren Mattocks (Jamaica)
- Colorado Rapids – Diego Rubio and Nicolas Mezquida (Uruguay)
- Columbus Crew SC – Federico Higuaín (Argentina), Artur (Brazil), Waylon Francis (Costa Rica)
- FC Dallas – Michael Barrios and Santiago Mosquera (Colombia), Carlos Grueso (Ecuador), Cristian Colman (Paraguay)
- D.C. United – Wayne Rooney(England), Luciano Acosta and Lucas Rodriguez (Argentina)
- Houston Dynamo – Oscar Boniek García and Alberth Elis (Honduras)
- LA Galaxy – Zlatan Ibrahimović (Sweden), Head Coach Guillermo Barros Schelotto (Argentina), Jonathan dos Santos (México), Giovani dos Santos (México)
- LAFC – Carlos Vela (México) and Diego Rossi (Uruguay)
- Minnesota United – Darwin Quintero (Colombia) and Francisco Calvo (Costa Rica)
- Montreal Impact – Ignacio Piatti (Argentina)
- NE Revolution – Diego Fagundez (Uruguay), Cristian Penilla (Ecuador), Juan Fernando Caicedo (Colombia)
- NYC FC – Maxi Moralez (Argentina), Alexander Callens (Perú), Jesus Medina (Paraguay) and Rónald Matarrita (Costa Rica)
- New York Red Bulls – Kaku (Paraguay), Michael Amir Murillo (Panamá), Kemar Lawrence (Jamaica)
- Orlando City SC – Jhegson Mendez (Ecuador), Cristian Higuita (Colombia) and Nani (Portugal)
- Philadelphia Union – Marco Fabian (México) and Andre Blake (Jamaica)
- Portland Timbers – Diego Valeri and Sebastián Blanco (Argentina), David Guzman (Costa Rica)
- Real Salt Lake – Joao Plata (Ecuador), Jefferson Savarino (Venezuela), Albert Rusnak (Slovakia)
- San Jose Earthquakes – Head Coach Matias Almeyda (Argentina) Anibal Godoy and Harold Cummings (Panama)
- Seattle Sounders FC – Raúl Ruidíaz (Perú), Nicolás Lodeiro (Uruguay) and Román Torres (Panama)
- Sporting KC – Roger Espinoza (Honduras), Felipe Gutierrez (Chile), Ilie Sanchez (Spain) and Rodney Wallace (Costa Rica)
- Toronto FC – Jozy Altidore and Michael Bradley (USA), Vancouver Whitecaps FC – Yordy Reyna (Peru)