10/20/2020 18:34
Clarín.com
sports
Updated 10/20/2020 6:34 PM
The bomb exploded on Friday, but the noise continues ... It is that on the day of the draw for the Professional Soccer League Cup it was announced that the AFA would unilaterally break the agreement with Fox Sports, one of the two licensees of the audiovisual rights of the First Division tournament.
The argument?
An alleged breach of contract.
Now, without any notification, the divorce still seems far from final.
And meanwhile, ESPN announced the return of soccer on the Fox Sports screen.
The only thing clear for now is that there is a great focus of open conflict, with inexorable judicial derivations ...
Because it is expected that at any moment the exchange of letters and documents will begin.
And, while none of the break is official, ESPN has already advanced the programming for the weekend of October 30.
Thus the sports signal put aside the information that the leaders circulated and that generated
the harsh reaction of River and Boca, who demonstrated against the move through a joint statement.
The leaders of Liga Fútbol Profesional, under the orbit of the AFA,
resolved by majority to unilaterally break a part of the contract to exploit television rights and dispense with the services of the Fox Sports network
, recently merged with ESPN from the acquisition of 21st Century Fox by The Walt Disney Company.
The reality is that ten days before the start of the Professional League Cup,
there are many doubts regarding how the games will be seen on TV.
Not only was the breakup not officially announced, but
the days and times of the first date were also not announced.
The exploitation link of the audiovisual rights signed in 2017 was 50% for Fox Sports and another 50% for Imagen Satelital SA (Turner - TNT Sports)
.
That contract, which lasts until 2027, also stipulates that in the event that one of the parties goes out of business, the remainder has priority to acquire the other half.
In other words, the leaders of Argentine soccer have the obligation to sit down and negotiate with Turner first to see if he is interested in acquiring the entire package.
As it transpired, beyond the will of some, the parent company of the company in the United States is not convinced to take the option.
In the background there is a tough political battle in which Claudio Tapia and Marcelo Tinelli stand on one side, and Rodolfo D'Onofrio and Jorge Amor Ameal on the other
.
"Boca and River are a fundamental part of the sporting event and they understand that the two clubs should have been consulted
throughout the process that led to this change in the ownership of the television rights contract, and not only be informed of the final result", the superclassic rivals manifested in a document they shared on Friday.
Everything happens while different ESPN programs have been questioning the organization and the latest management of Argentine soccer
.
While waiting, this ESPN promotion began on the same Friday that the breakup announcement was circulated from the AFA.
The television network that belongs to Disney makes it clear with these announcements and with the current contract that it still wants to continue being one of the screens of Argentine football.