Sports programs have become one of the pillars for pay television, allowing it to attract and retain users, as well as being a differentiator in the world of streaming. For this reason, Fox Sports, now owned by Grupo Lauman and formerly owned by Disney, is committed to consolidating itself in restricted television and becoming a relevant player in the world of video-on-demand platforms, through a new exclusive content channel.
“The sports segment has grown so much that it is what is leading us to look for another space because we have a lot of content and it could not appear in these three places (channels). For Grupo Lauman, its biggest bet last year was Fox Sports”, says Cristina Ruiz de Velasco, director of business development at Grupo Lauman.
The new Fox Sports space, which will be available both on television and streaming on April 2 of this year, and which will be added to the three channels in operation, will debut with the live WWE WrestleMania event. It will also feature F1, the women’s and men’s MX league, the Champions League, CONCACAF, Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Europa Conference League, NFL and MLB, among others.
This type of content, explains Cristina Ruiz de Velasco, director of business development at Grupo Lauman, was chosen for its premium channel because it is the most sought after and demanded by audiences, especially by young people who turn to consume it on platforms. on-line.
Now that these sports programs can be consumed not only through television but also through its streaming platform, Fox Sports will seek to reach the youngest audiences, who are the most difficult to capture due to changes in content consumption.
“For us it is about expanding the content offer and that all users can have different platforms and places where they can appreciate the events. We see that the issue of audiences has changed and now young people use digital platforms more and that is an audience that we want to reach”, commented the directive.
For Ruiz, the entry of new Fox Sports programming will also help pay television to become more attractive, since for Mexicans one of the reasons for contracting this entertainment segment is associated with the possibility of accessing sports leagues. .
The Fox Sports Premium sports content proposal will have two options: through pay television providers for a payment of 110 pesos, or via streaming at a cost of 130 pesos. Both options will not have advertising inserted in the programming.
No impact on the offer of sports content
In June of last year, Grupo Lauman acquired Fox Sports México, which was previously owned by subsidiaries of The Walt Disney Company, and whose transaction was valued at more than 300 million dollars.
This movement represented for Televisa an affectation to access sports programs, for which in October of last year -five months after the purchase of Grupo Lauman- it promoted an injunction against the resolution issued by the Federal Institute of Telecommunications to close the sale of Fox Sports channels.
Cristina Ruiz de Velasco said that the purchase of Fox Sports assets by Grupo Lauman does not affect competition or access to sports content.
“Fox Sports already existed and the competition is there and it’s good in all sectors and when there is, it translates into better quality and benefits users,” he said.
