ESPN is in advanced negotiation phase to enter into an operational agreement with X-Sports, aiming to bring part of the channel programming to open TV.
According to journalist Flávio Ricco, the X-Sports broadcaster will use the structure of Ideal TV to enable the transmission. Currently, the parties are discussing the percentage division of business revenues generated by the partnership.
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How will the partnership between ESPN and X-Sports work?
The negotiation involves the definition of how advertising sales profits will be shared between ESPN and X-Sports. Both parties seek an agreement that is financially viable and respects the commercial interests of each.
ESPN holds the rights of important international competitions in the program, including the Premier League, the Spanish Championship (Laliga) and the Italian Championship (Serie A).
ESPN expects the partnership to extend the range of the sports program of the Disney conglomerate. Already X-Sports sees in the partnership a strategic opportunity to strengthen presence in the sports media market.
POSSIBLE ESPN barriers with operators
The possible inclusion of ESPN programming on open television can generate challenges for pay -TV operators. Currently, these operators have contracts with ESPN for the distribution of closed channels.
If it part of this content migrates to open TV, it will be necessary to review the terms of contracts to avoid overlap of content and ensure the agreed exclusivity.
In addition, operators may face difficulties in justifying the continuity of channel charging that would now be available for free on open TV.
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What is X-Sports?
X-Sports will be a Brazilian open TV station dedicated to sports content. Headquartered in São Paulo, the station is linked to the Kalunga group, controller of Ideal TV, and will be the first of the sports segment on the country’s open TV.
In addition to open TV, X-Sports also plans to play on Pay TV, Ku band and streaming. The channel debut is scheduled for August 2025.
