NBC Universal/Telemundo and América Móvil on Thursday jointly submitted to the Mexican Football Federation (FMF) bids for the media rights to the Mexican national team, one for the U.S. and the other for the rest of the world, for two World Cup cycles, according to BROADWAY WORLD. The bids include rights to Mexico's men's and women's national teams. The proposal submitted for the U.S. market includes rights "across all media platforms, while the other includes global digital media rights," excluding the U.S. (BROADWAY WORLD, 9/28). MEDIO TIEMPO reported it is "possible that the opening of the rights to the Mexican national team, which was expected to follow the 2018 World Cup, will not happen." Sources said that the FMF will negotiate with Televisa and TV Azteca "to renew the current contract." It "had been suggested in recent months that the rights to El Tri might not remain" with Televisa and TV Azteca, as broadcasters like Fox Sports, ESPN, Imagen and Claro Sports "were expected to express interest." The FMF, Televisa and TV Azteca, however, "intend to justify their negotiations as part of a supposed renewal clause, which would give the broadcasters a contract for eight more years, and an opportunity to renew for an additional eight years after that." Rival broadcasters "claim that the FMF is willing to sacrifice money to extend the contracts with Televisa and TV Azteca." The FMF reportedly receives $80M per four-year World Cup cycle, "a figure that competitors believe could increase to at least $200M if the rights were awarded to more broadcasters" (MEDIO TIEMPO, 9/26).
