Conmebol, South American soccer's governing body, has concluded “the most competitive bidding process in its history” for media rights to the continent’s club competitions for the 2027-30 cycle.
Following a formal request for proposal (RFP) process, the federation conducted 10 months of consultations, technical analysis, and multiple evaluation rounds to select the best proposals for the top-tier Copa Libertadores, the secondary Copa Sudamericana, and the Recopa Sudamericana.
Conmebol stated that it chose the bids “which offered the best technical and financial conditions to expand the distribution of the competitions.”
Rights in Brazil (Territory A) have been split between three broadcasters. Globo, the Brazilian media heavyweight, has secured the free-to-air package for the Libertadores and Recopa, while Disney-owned sports network ESPN has landed pay-TV rights to all three competitions.
Media giant Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) has acquired free-to-air rights to the Copa Sudamericana, which it will broadcast on its TNT Sports channel, as well as providing near-live clips and highlights for all competitions.
In addition, WBD has also secured a pan-regional free-to-air package for the Libertadores in South America (Territory B). Ecuador is the only country not included, as rights to the competition were acquired by commercial broadcaster Ecuavisa.
WBD will show the Copa Sudamericana across the region, and near-live clips and highlights for all competitions.
Pay-TV rights for the Libertadores will be split between WBD (via the HBO Max streaming platform) and ESPN, while ESPN and DirecTV will show the Copa Sudamericana.
ESPN has additionally secured rights to the Recopa (which is contested by the winner of the previous year's Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana) across South America, as well as rights to all three club competitions in Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean (Territory B).
Alejandro Domínguez, president of Conmebol, said: “This process reaffirms Conmebol’s commitment to transparency, integrity, and the constant pursuit of improvements for our football.
“The winning proposals will ensure that our competitions continue to grow both within and beyond the continent, bringing fans even closer together and enhancing the value of South American football.”
IMG, the heavyweight sports marketing agency, and its FC Diez Media arm managed the sales process as part of a long-term commercial partnership with Conmebol that was extended earlier this year for the 2027-2030 period.
FC Diez Media is responsible for managing the media rights, sponsorship, and overall commercial rights for Conmebol’s slate of club competitions.
The subsidiary was formed in 2018 as a joint venture between IMG and digital sports media group Perform (it took 100% control in 2020) after IMG secured a wide array of Conembol rights in 2017 to cover the 2019-22 cycle.
IMG retained those same rights for the current 2023-2026 period.
The initial partnership between Conmebol and IMG was reportedly worth as much as $1.4 billion, and that could have increased further after two successful rights cycles.
