Fox Corp, the US media heavyweight, has recently acquired the Mexican sports platform, Caliente TV. This strategic move is part of Fox's plan to expand its sports portfolio and attract more users to its streaming services.
The acquisition deal includes plans to launch a new pay-TV and streaming service that will complement its current free ad-supported streaming service, Tubi. The company stated that these combined services would deliver over 3,000 hours of original sports content annually.
In line with this acquisition, Fox announced Carlos Martinez as executive vice president and managing director for Latin America. A veteran media executive who has previously worked for Turner, Discovery, and Fox itself. In his new role, Martinez will oversee Fox’s operations across Mexico and Central America. His responsibilities also include integrating Caliente TV into the network's operations and launching new platforms.
Fox Sports' managing director for Latin America, Carlos Martinez, said:
“FOX's investment to acquire Caliente TV reflects our commitment to building a leading sports streaming business in Mexico with massive audience reach, a robust sports rights portfolio, and an impressive roster of exclusive sports leagues and talent.”
Premium sports rights acquisition
The acquisition of Caliente TV provides Fox with access to an extensive range of premium sports rights. This includes six top-tier Liga MX clubs and ten women's clubs, significantly expanding their football coverage. Additionally, Fox will now have broadcasting rights to several major global competitions such as the UEFA men’s Champions League and the Concacaf Champions Cup. The deal also encompasses Italy’s Coppa Italia domestic cup competition, France’s top-tier Ligue 1, England’s Premier League, and the FA Cup knockout competition. This diverse array of sports rights positions Fox to deliver a wide variety of high-quality content to its viewers.
Other notable properties include the United Football League (UFL), college's Big Ten Conference (B10), World Enduro Championships (WEC), Nascar Mexico series among others. This move comes at a time when streaming is becoming increasingly popular among viewers. A report by Nielsen in May revealed that for the first time ever in the US market share of broadcasted content was surpassed by streamed content on platforms like Netflix or Hulu.
This shift towards online viewing has led to intense competition among media giants, each vying for premium programming to attract subscribers and generate advertising revenue.
All-Encompassing OTT platform
Last month, Fox announced the launch of a new all-encompassing OTT platform, Fox One. This platform will host its news, entertainment and local networks as well as sports networks FS1, FS2, Big Ten Network and Spanish-language Fox Deportes. Pete Distad, CEO of Fox One said that the platform is designed to reach outside of the pay-TV bundle and deliver all the best Fox-branded content directly to viewers wherever they are. The series is set to launch in 2025 ahead of the NFL season which is also broadcasted by Fox.
In response to this move by Fox Corp., rival media giant Disney has also announced plans for a new OTT service. ESPN owned by Disney will launch a direct-to-consumer (DTC) offering in late 2025 under its own name. ESPN boasts an elite sports portfolio featuring American football’s NFL, basketball’s NBA and women’s WNBA among others.
The acquisition of Caliente TV by FOX Corp signifies an exciting time for sports fans who can look forward to more diverse content on their screens.
