The scenario of the Brazilian sports media is experiencing a novelty of impact with the arrival of X-Sportsnew open TV channel 100% dedicated to sport. The official launch of the channel happens in this Wednesday (08/06)at an event at the Unique Hotel, in São Paulo (SP), and the debut of the program is scheduled for the August 16th.
Operated by Kalunga Group in partnership with ESPNfrom the Disney group, the channel comes with the purpose of filling a historical gap: offering free sports transmission, 24 hours a daysomething nonexistent on open TV since the end of interactive sport as a linear channel in 2018.
The channel’s slogan is “Truth Emotion”in line with the proposal to offer a complete sports coverage, accessible and multiplatform.
X-Sports: Channel Number
- Channel 11 VHF – Fortaleza
- Channel 15 UHF – Porto Alegre
- Channel 16 UHF – Belo Horizonte
- Channel 18 UHF – São Luís
- 24 UHF Channel – Cuiabá, Manaus, Natal and Recife
- Channel 25 UHF – Belém
- Channel 27 UHF – Boa Vista
- Channel 29 UHF – Curitiba and Vitória
- Channel 31 UHF – Brasilia, Maceió and São Paulo
- Canal 32 UHF – Palmas
- Channel 33 UHF – João Pessoa
- Canal 36 UHF – Teresinas
- Channel 39 UHF – Campo Grande
- Canal 41 UHF – Salvador
- Channel 47 UHF – Rio de Janeiro
- Channel 48 UHF – Goiânia
- Channel 40 UHF – Rio Branco (until the end of the year)
- Channel 45 UHF – Porto Velho (until the end of the year)
- Channel 48 UHF – Macapá (until the end of the year)
X-Sports: Championships and Events
Right away, X-Sports will have a menu of events that draws attention. Through a SUBLICANCTION AGREEMENT WITH ESPNthe channel will broadcast exclusively on TV open championships of European football:
- Premier League (England)
- LaLiga (Spain)
- Serie A (Italy)
- Liga Portugal
- EFL Championship (2nd English division)
- King’s Cup (Spain)
- German Cup
The grid will also include Volleyball, basketball, athletics, e-sports e motorsporthighlighting the 2025 season of NASCAR. The first transmission of the category will be the traditional Cook Out 400on August 17, narrated by Aldo Luizveteran with tickets for TNT Sports, Bandsports and Dazn.
In addition to live display, part of the program will be available in YouTubewith the exception of tournaments whose contract requires exclusivity on open TV. It is expected that live events will occupy between 40% and 50% of daily programming.
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X-Sports: channel journalists
X-Sports will have a cast of experienced and renowned professionals. Among narrators and commentatorsthey are:
- Aldo Luiz
- Álvaro José
- FELIPPE FACIANCIANI
- Mauro Beting
- Milton Milk
- Raí Monteiro
- Zé Neto
Other names, such as Flavio Prado, Jorge Nicola e Marília Ruiz, They are also quoted to compose the team.
The station will still have Partnerships with content creatorsseeking to expand interaction with younger and multiplatform audiences.
X-Sports: channel objective
In a press interview, José Roberto GarciaCEO of Kalunga, stressed that the main objective of X-Sports is democratize access to sport For those who are unable to pay for pay TV or streaming services:
– On open TV, the offer of sports content is very limited. There are 16 sports channels on pay TV, but almost no open broadcaster devotes 24 hours to the theme. X-Sports comes to fill this gap, ”he explained.
In addition to the focus on broadcasts, the station already negotiates sponsorship quotas segmented by modalityoffering alternatives to brands that want to invest directly in niches such as football, motorsport, e-sports and volleyball.
Garcia also stated that the company is aware of future opportunities in national championships:
– Local tournaments are committed to other broadcasters at the moment, but as soon as a breach comes up, we will fight for these rights.
X-Sports: histonic and structure
X-Sports will work with the technical structure of Ideal TVallowing national coverage through digital satellite antennas e Pay TV operators. Currently, the frequency of channel 32 is occupied by the religious programming of World Church of the Power of Godwith 22 hours daily.
The project resumes the desire of the Kalunga group to invest in television media. The company had launched the Loadingchannel focused on pop culture in 2020. Despite a good initial audience, the channel ended in 2021 due to the pandemic trade impacts.
Recently, the group also declined a proposal from the Young Pan Groupwhich was interested in the same frequency to launch a journalistic channel.
Will X-Sports and ESPN have equal programs?
While sharing competition rights with the new partner, ESPN (Disney) follows its exclusive programming for paid channels and streaming via Disney+including tournaments such as Copa Libertadores, South American Cupin addition to a collection of more than 1,000 games per seasonin about 300 live events per week and more than 20 sports.
Programs such as SportsCenter, Pass Line, Ball of the Time and Review ESPN remain exclusive on the group’s platforms.
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