Univision's streaming service nets Brazilian, Argentinian soccer rights

Univision Communications Inc. continued the flurry of streaming soccer rights deals, securing pacts with a pair of top South American circuits for its fledgling service, PrendeTV.

The U.S. Spanish-language media leader has struck multi-year deals, terms of which were not disclosed, for the Brasileirão Championship and Argentina's Liga Profesional de Fútbol,

Under the agreement, PrendeTV will live-stream matches from the Campeonato Brasileirão Série A and B and Argentine Primera División matches, including playoffs and the SuperCopa.

PrendeTV kicks off its live match coverage July 16 with the Argentine Primera División 2021 as Unión de Santa Fe takes on Boca Juniors.

PrendeTV, a free, ad-supported service, launched in March and counts 1 million active users. The service, which expects to reach 5 million subscribers by year-end, began streaming live sports as part of Univision's recently completed coverage of the Euro Cup.

Univision, which is in the process of acquiring content assets from longtime chief programming supplier Grupo Televisa SAB, plans to launch a two-tiered, aggregate streaming service next year, following the deal's closing. PrendeTV is expected to anchor the service's ad-supported offering.

Looking to bolster their subscriber rolls, particularly among young adults who favor futbol, media companies have been buttressing their soccer portfolios in recent months.

ViacomCBS streaming platform Paramount+ netted the U.S. English-language streaming rights to the above-mentioned Brazilian and Argentinian leagues, as well Italy’s Serie A Championship, the Coppa Italia and the Supercoppa Italiana from the 2021-22 through the 2023-24 seasons.

Virtual provider fuboTV Inc. has acquired exclusive live-streaming rights in the U.S. to the Qatar World Cup 2022 qualifying matches of the South American Football Confederation.

ESPN+ is home to the Bundesliga, Germany’s top-flight soccer league, and the streaming service signed an eight-year pact with La Liga, Spain’s leading soccer league.