TelevisaUnivision’s coverage of the UEFA Champions League for the 2022/23 season has a duality. Viewers will take comfort in knowing that the level of production quality and talent are very familiar to them. At the same time, there are many changes underfoot. The introduction of the ViX streaming platform adds a different dynamic that wasn’t there before.
To better understand the changes and get a sense of the Spanish-language broadcaster’s vision for UEFA competitions, World Soccer Talk met this week with TelevisaUnivision Sports President Olek Loewenstein.
How ViX is shaking up its UEFA coverage
First, let’s go to the changes. None of the thirty-two Champions League games in the first two weeks of the season appear on Galavisión, one of the many channels under the umbrella of TelevisaUnivision. Another big change is that non-televised games are now available on ViX or ViX+, as well as TUDNxtra. For example, of the sixteen Champions League games this week, 50% of them are only available in Spanish through ViX+ (priced at $6.99 per month). Meanwhile, four games are available on the free ViX platform.
Suffice to say, a select number of Champions League games on TUDNxtra is a big change for viewers who were used to turning on the TV (or logging in through TUDNxtra) and watching every Champions League game for free. .
However, select games are still available on television through Univision, UniMas and TUDN, as before.
“We will keep the best games open [Univision], and ViX will become the hub of European soccer competitions,” said Loewenstein. “ViX will be the place where you can watch all the UEFA Champions League and UEFA national team matches.”
ViX Positioning
ViX has news, entertainment, shows and movies. But when the focus turns specifically to soccer, Loewenstein helped explain the strategy.
“It’s undeniable that broadcasting is going to be a big part of the future of sports,” Loewenstein said. “There are some people who say it will be the future, period. I still think there is going to be a combination of platforms.
“The way we’re doing it is we’re thinking of ViX as an outlet for soccer. In the past, with linear channels, we had very limited inventory, especially in the world of soccer, where most games take place between Friday and Sunday at the same time. In a linear network, you basically need to pick a game. The others, you just can’t program [on linear television].
Olek Lowenstein
“We thought of ViX as the place where we could serve other Hispanics. So we acquired the rights to the Peruvian league, the Argentine league, the Brazilian league and the Colombian league. Those are leagues that you can watch on ViX.
“I mention ViX in general because we have a windows strategy. For most of these leagues, we have one ‘game of the week’ in front of the paywall and the rest of the games behind the paywall. We have the same concept with Mexican soccer.”
Speaking of Mexican soccer, Liga MX continues to be the “bread and butter” of TelevisaUnivision’s success story when it comes to club soccer. Interestingly, though, the broadcaster has three times as many non-Hispanics watching the Champions League as the Mexican league, according to Loewenstein.
TelevisaUnivision’s interest in acquiring more soccer rights
In August, CBS Sports paid $1.5 billion to renew the English-language rights to the UEFA Champions League from 2024/25 to 2029/30. For Spanish rights, UEFA and Relevent Sports have decided to pause the bidding process until the streaming landscape becomes more competitive between ViX+ and Peacock Premium.
With ViX’s desire to be the world’s largest streaming service dedicated to Spanish-language content, renewing the rights to a prestigious competition like the Champions League is an important part of its strategy.
Meanwhile, when asked about any interest in the CONMEBOL Copa Libertadores rights expiring this year, Loewenstein responded: “We are always looking at the possibility of acquiring rights, but the problem at the moment is that, at least for us, It must have economic value. We will go after every single right out there, as long as it generates a return on investment for us. So it’s not about whether we want it, but whether we can get it for the price we’re willing to pay.”
The king of Europe comes on stage! ????✨
Real Madrid visits Celtic on matchday one of the UEFA Champions League. ????⚽️????
Celtic 0-0 Real Madrid
LIVE on ViX and Zona TUDN ????#TuChampions pic.twitter.com/dc3yHJkewu
– TUDN Zone (@Zona_TUDN) September 6, 2022
‘The home of football’ in the United States
In conclusion, Loewenstein summarized how he sees TelevisaUnivision’s position in the world of broadcasting when it comes to soccer. “I think we have positioned ourselves in the market with probably the best team and combination of resources between Mexico and the United States to cover the sport of soccer. And that is reflected in the coverage we do and the results we have.”
Coverage of the UEFA Champions League continues this month on both CBS Sports and TelevisaUnivision.
