The Fox Corp US media heavyweight has acquired Mexican sports platform Caliente TV as it looks to expand its sports portfolio and attract more users to its streaming services.
The deal includes plans to launch a new pay-TV and streaming service that sits alongside its current free ad-supported streaming service, Tubi. The company said that together, the services will deliver more than 3,000 hours of original sports content annually.
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Along with the acquisition, Fox also announced Carlos Martinez, a veteran media executive who has previously worked for Turner, Discovery, and Fox, as executive vice president and managing director for Latin America.
In his new role, Martinez will oversee Fox’s operations and growth strategy across Mexico and Central America, including the integration of Caliente TV and the new platform launches.
Commenting on the acquisition, Martinez said: “FOX's investment to acquire Caliente TV reflects our commitment to building a leading sports streaming business in Mexico with massive audience reach, a robust sports rights portfolio, and an impressive roster of exclusive sports leagues and talent.”
The acquisition will give Fox a wide array of premium sports rights, including six top-tier Liga MX clubs, ten women’s clubs, and right to several major global competitions, including the UEFA men’s Champions League, the Concacaf Champions Cup, the Italy’s Coppa Italia domestic cup competition, and France’s top-tier Ligue 1, as well as England’s top-tier Premier League and FA Cup knockout competition.
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By GlobalDataOther sports properties include the United Football League, college’s Big Ten Conference, the World Enduro Championships, and Nascar Mexico series.
The move comes as the media giant looks to boost its sports content as streaming becomes the top way for viewers to watch TV. In May, a report by Nielsen revealed streaming had surpassed the combined share of broadcast and cable TV viewing in the US for the first time.
The sudden switch to streaming has led to fierce competition between the media giants to buy up premium programming to draw subscribers and advertising revenue.
Last month, Fox announced a new all-encompassing OTT platform, Fox One, which will host its news, entertainment, and local networks, as well as its sports networks FS1, FS2, Big Ten Network, and the Spanish-language Fox Deportes.
Pete Distad, Fox One's chief executive, said: “Fox One is designed to reach outside of the pay-TV bundle and deliver all the best Fox-branded content directly to viewers wherever they are.”
The series is set to launch later in 2025 ahead of the NFL season, which the broadcaster also holds rights to.
Other prominent sports rights held by Fox include the college sports’ Big Ten, Big 12, and Mountain West conferences, MLB, LIV Golf, Nascar, and soccer’s FIFA World Cup.
Rival media giant Disney also announced plans to establish a new OTT service, with Disney-owned sports pay-TV giant ESPN set to launch a direct-to-consumer (DTC) offering in the second half of 2025, also bearing the name ESPN.
ESPN boasts an elite sports portfolio featuring the likes of American football’s NFL, basketball’s NBA and women’s WNBA, ice hockey’s NHL, baseball’s MLB, and MMA promotion UFC.
