THE Premier League is in danger of losing a £100 million television contract after one of its Mexican rights holders, Fox Sports Mexico, failed to make payments due for this season.
The Guardian has learned that the Premier League is considering its options, including legal action, canceling the contract and removing live matches from Fox Sports in Mexico until they are paid for.
Fox Sports has signed a four-year deal to broadcast live Premier League matches in Mexico, which runs until the end of the 2027-28 season, but is struggling to honor its commitments due to cash flow problems. The broadcaster has failed to pay several other sports organizations whose television rights it owns, including Concacaf and the NFL.
The Premier League’s deal with Fox Sports began this season after its contract with Paramount+ was canceled. Under a joint deal with HBO Max worth around £50m a year, Fox Sports has the rights to broadcast around 100 Premier League matches each season, with 90 broadcast by HBO.
The NFL stopped broadcasting its games on Fox Sports Mexico ahead of a scheduled NFC West matchup between the LA Rams and San Francisco 49ers last Thursday. Fox Sports broadcast Bournemouth draw 1-1 against West Ham Monday despite the dispute, but the Premier League has not ruled out following the NFL’s lead in the future.
Concacaf, the North, Central American and Caribbean football confederation, has filed a claim against Fox Sports for £20 million for unpaid rights to the Champions Cup, the North’s equivalent American and central of the UEFA Champions League. Sources with knowledge of the matter told the Guardian that the legal action was a last resort by Concacaf, which gave Fox Sports multiple opportunities to restructure the terms of the deal and refinance the company without receiving the fees. unpaid.
The duration of this dispute does not bode well for the Premier League, which could be forced to put half of its Mexican rights back on the market.
The league’s global television rights deals are the most lucrative in the world and the biggest source of revenue for its clubs. Overseas broadcast deals are expected to earn clubs £6.5bn between 2025 and 2028, an increase of 23% on the previous cycle, and far more each year than the £6.4bn value. pounds sterling of national duties between 2025 and 2029.
Despite this success, the possible failure of a £100 million deal in Mexico is an issue the league could do without, particularly at a time when some of its spending is under scrutiny. Several clubs have expressed concern over the league’s legal costs rising significantly in recent years, which reached £45 million last season., the bill being divided equally between the 20 clubs.
Fox Sports’ financial problems appear to stem from a delay in a proposed takeover by Fox’s parent company, Fox US, which previously owned it. The Mexican subsidiary is owned by the Lauman Group, a global media conglomerate controlled by Mexican businessman Manuel Arroyo.
The separation of Fox Sports Mexico from the American company took place five years ago as part of the Disney project. 21st Century Fox buyout for £56 billionLauman licensing the brand to Disney and purchasing international sports rights including the Premier League, NFL and Formula 1. This year, Lauman agreed to sell Fox Sports Mexico to Fox US and received regulatory approval, but the agreement has not progressed.
The Premier League declined to comment. Fox Sports Mexico did not respond to requests for comment.