Former ESPN president John Skipper will testify in court about FOX’s winning World Cup bids. The decision was revealed on Monday following a ruling by a US federal judge. A defense lawyer in the case tried to block the move, but the court denied the request.
Former FOX executives face money laundering, wire fraud charges
Prosecutors in the case claim that former FOX executives Hernán López and Carlos MartÃnez used inside information and even bribery to obtain media rights to the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. The duo is being charged with money laundering and wire fraud. . López is the former executive director of FOX international channels. Meanwhile, Martinez is the former president of Latin American operations for the FOX subsidiary.
Hidden payments to more than a dozen South American officials allegedly initiated the bribes. FOX executives were trying to secure broadcast rights to the Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana competitions.
Prosecutors later claim that López and MartÃnez used relationships obtained from South American payments to help force the rights to the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. FOX also later secured the rights to the 2026 World Cup. The United States is co-hosted that tournament with Mexico and Canada. So it’s hugely valuable to the broadcaster with the rights.
Alejandro Burzaco, formally CEO of Argentine broadcasting company TyC, previously testified that he worked with López to help FOX gain an advantage in the process. Burzaco said that he contacted former FIFA vice president Julio Grondona about the negotiation process. Grondona reportedly told Burzaco that if “FOX puts in $400 million, then they will win.”
John Skipper will talk about the World Cup negotiation process
Skipper, who worked with ESPN from 1997 to 2017, was at the helm of the network when negotiations for the two World Cup tournaments took place. He will discuss the bidding process for the competitions in court. After leaving ESPN, Skipper eventually moved to British news outlet DAZN. He also recently formed a new content company called Meadowlark Media.
