Streaming service FloSports is investing further into its soccer coverage, signing a deal with Concacaf for the exclusive U.S. English-language broadcast rights to the confederation’s new men’s national team competition, the Nations League. The deal, which runs through '22, will begin in week four of the tournament’s qualifiers in March and will be featured on FloSports’ newly-launched soccer-specific vertical, FloFC. The company said more than 200 games of the competition will be broadcast on FloFC.com over the course of the deal, in addition to original Concacaf-related programming, studio shows and other content. FloSports co-Founder & COO Mark Floreani said that the company is investing “well into eight figures” into the partnership, declining to further comment on financial details of the deal. FloSports earlier this month signed a four-year deal with DC United for its local broadcast rights, its first such deal with a pro team. That deal is valued at more than $13M over the four-year commitment, according to sources. Floreani said as the company has looked to move into soccer, it identified Concacaf as the opportunity to broadcast a potential match between the U.S. and Mexican men’s national teams would “certainly bring a lot of attention.” “This is the sort of thing that will not only make a subscription for a DC United fan worth so much more, but will also drive viewership and subscribers across the country,” Floreani said, declining to comment on what the company’s internal subscriber goals are. FloSports is also in discussions with other soccer properties about potential rights acquisitions, Floreani said, declining to comment further.
UPPING THE COMPETITION: The Nations League, which Concacaf launched last year, will serve as a regional international tournament among teams across North America, Central America and the Caribbean with the goal of providing the teams with more competitive matches and fewer friendlies. The first iteration will begin in earnest in September and will culminate in March '20. Another will be played ahead of the '22 FIFA World Cup. Concacaf General Secretary Philippe Moggio said launching the tournament is critical for the growth of both the federation and its national team members, which drew them to doing a deal with FloSports. “It was incredibly important for us that our potential partner would get heavily behind this competition, and in our discussions with FloSports it was clear they viewed this as a huge opportunity to be aligned with us as they push into soccer,” Moggio said. “They have huge plans for their coverage of the Nations League, which we think will be great for the diverse fan base across the U.S.” Moggio said that the confederation will make a future announcement regarding the Spanish language U.S. broadcast rights for the event.
