Disney (DIS) continues to expand its foray into soccer as it has won the rights to air soccer’s 2008 European Championships. While its various ESPN outlets will carry the brunt of the coverage, ABC will show two of the matches.
Included in the agreement will be the Spanish language rights for their ESPN Deportes network, along with pay television rights for Latin America.
This deal has been pursued because of the strong ratings that the World Cup brought to the network. The result is the expanding of its soccer deals and coverage.
As with the World Cup, the European tournament happens every four years. The rivalries between the national soccer teams could end up with some terrific viewing numbers. The next tournament is scheduled in Austria and Switzerland in June of 2008.
In the U.S., that last coverage in 2004 was mainly through pay per view.
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