Japanese soccer’s top-tier J.League is to receive live coverage in Italy in the second half of the year under a new agreement reached with OneFootball, the international digital platform.
The deal comes into effect on 30 July, and covers Italy, San Marino and Vatican City.
Dentsu, the Japan-based advertising giant, is responsible for the distribution of international rights to the J.League outside Japan and China, in a three-year deal running to the end of the 2022 season.
OneFootball has been building up a soccer rights portfolio as it increases its presence on the international stage, including showing Germany’s Bundesliga in Brazil and now the rest of South America and the DFB-Pokal in France, Italy, the UK and the Netherlands, France’s Ligue 1 in Brazil and the Scottish Premiership in various European markets and Canada.
The Italian deal represents a further expansion of the J.League footprint, with the league having recently widened its reach to 60 territories through a deal with Sony Pictures Networks in the Indian subcontinent.
