ESPN+ Lands Rights to Copa Del Rey, Expands Lineup of Live Sports Available in Spanish

ESPN+ will be the exclusive home for Spain’s premier domestic soccer cup competition, the Copa Del Rey, as part of a new multi-year agreement with the Royal Spanish Football Federation. In a separate announcement, ESPN also revealed that ESPN+ will expand the number of live sports events that are available to sports fans each month with the option of Spanish-language commentary beginning this month.

ESPN+ Adds Exclusive Coverage of Copa del Rey in the U.S.
ESPN+ will feature up to 65 matches per season, including matches featuring the biggest teams in Spanish soccer and the Copa del Rey Final – one of European soccer’s most prestigious sporting events. Many of the matches will be available to fans with both English and Spanish language commentary options. ESPN’s direct-to-consumer sports streaming service has already launched it coverage of Copa del Rey, with tournament’s second round streaming live last Saturday (Jan. 11).

Russell Wolff, Executive Vice President and General Manager, ESPN+ says: “Copa del Rey is among the most storied and exciting soccer tournaments in the world, featuring electrifying players and teams. This agreement is a further reflection of ESPN+’s position as a must-have home for world-class soccer in the U.S. and we are thrilled to offer coverage to fans in both English and Spanish.”

Organized by the Royal Spanish Football Federation, the Copa del Rey is Spanish soccer’s annual knockout football competition and one of global soccer’s top domestic events. Founded in 1903, it is Spain’s longest-running soccer competition. A total of 116 clubs will compete in this season’s Copa del Rey, including all 20 teams from Spain’s prestigious La Liga. Most La Liga teams will join the tournament in Round 2 (beginning Jan. 11), with the four teams competing in the Spanish Super Copa (Valencia CF, FC Barcelona, Real Madrid CF, Atletico Madrid) entering during the Round of 32 (beginning Jan. 22).

The Copa del Rey final will take place April 18 with the winner qualifying for both the UEFA Europa League and the Spanish Supercopa. Last season, Valencia claimed their eighth title with a dramatic victory over former champions Barcelona FC.

The Copa del Rey and Copa de la Reina join an unmatched lineup of approximately 2,000 annual soccer matches on ESPN+, including the English FA Cup, Carabao Cup and EFL, Italian Serie A, Germany’s Bundesliga (beginning 2020), Dutch Eredivise, Major League Soccer (MLS), UEFA Nations League and more.

The Spanish soccer competitions also join a growing lineup of live sports events offered to ESPN+ subscribers with their choice of Spanish or English commentary – including dozens of soccer and MLB games, boxing and UFC events, and more each month.

ESPN+ Expands Lineup of Live Sports Available in Spanish
ESPN+ will add dozens more events each month featuring Spanish-language commentary initially focused on several sport – in particular soccer (including the newly-acquired Spanish Copa del Rey, Serie A, Coppa Italia, FA Cup, MLS and more), Top Rank boxing and Major League Baseball (with the beginning of the new season in 2020). ESPN+ will also now deliver all live UFC coverage in both English and Spanish (including early preliminary and preliminary fights).

Additionally, five days a week beginning Monday, Jan. 13 ESPN+ will feature Fuera del Juego – ESPN’s popular weekday news and analysis roundtable program dedicated to European and international football.

The developing Spanish programming lineup is another step in serving the growing audience of ESPN+ subscribers and the broader company-wide strategy to serve U.S. Hispanic sports fans.

“ESPN+ has a wide array of premium live sports that appeal to the growing US Hispanic audience, including soccer, boxing, UFC and baseball. Giving fans the option for Spanish commentary on more of that programming is another great step in our continued effort to serve fans and enhance their experience,” Adds Wolff.

In January, ESPN+ will have more than 50 live sports events available to fans with Spanish commentary. CLICK HERE for a list of this week’s events.