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linda moss
Looking to create a worldwide Spanish-language TV sports operation, Fox Sports International and TeleRed Imagen S.A. of Argentina are pooling their properties, which include three sports networks.
The joint venture was described as a straight combination of assets, namely Fox Sports World Espanol, with 3.9 million subscribers; Fox Sports Latin America, with 9.8 million homes; and the TyC Sports channel, with 6.7 million subscribers.
Under the partnership, FSI plans to distribute TRISA's TyC Sports network to U.S. cable operators and direct-broadcast satellite services. Fox Cable Networks Group will handle the U.S. distribution drive for that TyC-branded network.
?Many MSOs and DBS providers are planning Hispanic-focused tiers,? FSI president Bob Thompson says. ?This is one of the things that will drive those tiers.?
The goal of the alliance is to allow FSI and TRISA, itself a joint venture between Grupo Clarin S.A. and Torneos y Competencias S.A., to create an integrated package of channels and regional sports programming for Spanish-speaking viewers.
?It's a good match with little duplication,? Thompson says.
FSI will manage the North American operations for the venture, primarily Fox Sports World Espanol, using programming and other assets from the merger to drive the network's penetration. For example, as part of the deal Fox Sports World Espanol will gain access to exclusive live Official League soccer matches from Argentina and Uruguay and other TRISA properties.
FSI will also handle all pan-regional advertising sales for the new joint venture.
Under the pact, TRISA will take on day-to-day management of the TyC Sports and Fox Sports-branded networks in Latin America. That includes Fox Sports Latin American properties that now reach more than 9.8million homes in 18 countries, with the heaviest concentration in Argentina, Chile and Mexico.
The TyC Sports network will gain access to FSI's sports programming and production resources, ranging from Argentine, Chilean, Mexican and English Premier League soccer to National Football League, Major League Baseball, PGA Tour golf and the twice-nightly Fox Sports Noticias.
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