Telemundo Deportes has acquired the Spanish-language rights in the United States along with FOX Deportes for the historic River Plate-Boca Juniors Copa Libertadores final, which will be played on Sunday, December 9 live from Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid, Spain.
The much-discussed and twice postponed second leg of the Copa Libertadores has been the center of so much controversy after River Plate fans ambushed the Boca Juniors team bus as it headed to Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The game was postponed on Saturday, November 24 after injuries to Boca players, and rescheduled for the following day. But despite the fact that the stadium was filled with 70,000 River fans, CONMEBOL decided to postpone the game once more.
During the November 24 and 25 broadcasts of the postponed Copa Libertadores Final second leg, FOX Deportes televised the game to viewers across the United States. But in a surprising turn of events, FOX Sports has decided to sublicense the one game to Telemundo, but FOX Deportes will show on the game too.
Perhaps one of the reasons for Telemundo acquiring the game is that it’s a perfect segue to the upcoming FIFA Club World Cup, which will be televised on Telemundo, Universo, Telemundo Deportes App, and fuboTV starting December 12, live from the United Arab Emirates.
The winner of the South American club tournament will participate in the FIFA Club World Cup that features some of the world’s best club teams including Real Madrid and CD Guadalajara.
“This acquisition is another step forward in our commitment to continue adding the best and biggest sports to our programming lineup,” said Ray Warren, President of Telemundo Deportes. “We are excited to bring Telemundo viewers one of the most anticipated matchups of the year, complemented by extensive pre/post coverage led by our renowned experts.”
Telemundo Deportes’ Andrés Cantor, Miguel Gurwitz, Sammy Sadovnik, Eduardo Biscayart and Carlota Vizmanos will lead the Final’s coverage, live from Madrid and Telemundo Center in Miami.
FOX’s rights to the Copa Libertadores, both in Spanish and English, expire at the end of 2018. There’s been no news to report about FOX Sports or any other broadcaster in the United States televising the game in English despite the growing anticipation for one of the fiercest derbies in world soccer.
The first leg of the Copa Libertadores Final ended 2-2.
