Media group Globo has successfully acquired the remaining package of rights offered by the Liga Forte União (LFU) bloc of Brazilian football clubs. This acquisition completes the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A media rights cycle for at least the next three seasons.
Globo’s deal with LFU includes exclusive rights to four Série A matches per round, as well as exclusive pay-platform rights to one other match. These matches will be home games of LFU clubs.
In total, thanks to its deals with both LFU and Libra – two blocs of Brazilian clubs – Globo will broadcast nine Série A matches per round in 2025. Both deals are set to run for five years, from 2025 through 2029.
Previous deals and future fluctuations
Globo's previous deal with Libra granted it exclusive rights to all top-tier matches belonging to those clubs. This includes five Série A matches per round in the 2025 season. However, this number could fluctuate due to club promotions and relegations.
The current agreement marks LFU’s third deal within the 2025-29 cycle and is also the fourth overall Série A media rights deal. Prior agreements include a partnership with ecommerce giant Amazon for one exclusive match per week over five years (from 2025-29), as well as a joint venture between free-to-air broadcaster Record and social video platform YouTube.
Record and YouTube share free-to-air rights for one weekly Serie A match from 2025 through 2027; however, under its new agreement with LFU, Globo now holds pay-platform rights for this match too.
Financial implications & future prospects
According to an official press release by LFU, these three deals have earned the bloc a total of R$1.7bn (€284m/$291m) per year. All media rights deals were negotiated by agency LiveMode.
With Globo's latest acquisition, the sales cycle for Brazil’s Série A is now complete until at least 2028, when Record and YouTube’s deal is set to expire. The process of selling these rights took nearly three years due to Brazilian law quirks that require football clubs to sell home match rights individually under the 'Lei do Mandante'. In November, LFU announced the sale of 20% of its broadcast rights for 50 years, starting in 2025, for R$2.6bn to investors including venture capital group Life Capital Partners and US growth equity firm General Atlantic.
Local broadcasters have expressed hope that from 2030 onward – when next available – clubs will find a more efficient sales solution. In 2025, Libra will represent nine Série A clubs: Atlético-MG, Bahia, Flamengo, Grêmio, Palmeiras, Red Bull Bragantino, Santos, Sao Paulo and Vitória. LFU will represent eleven Série A clubs: Botafogo, Ceará, Corinthians, Cruzeiro, Fluminense, Fortaleza, Internacional, Juventude, Mirassol Sport and Vasco.
