After ESPN America was shut down at the end of July, Major League Baseball was missing on most of European TV screens. FOX International Channels has now reached a multi-year agreement with Major League Baseball International for the exclusive rights of MLB games throughout of 30 European territories.
The contract started with the current World Series between the Boston Red Sox and St. Louis Cardinals and will include all upcoming MLB games. They will air baseball via FOX Sports, a sports specialty channel, which gets established in Europe. So far FOX Sports has been launched in the Netherlands, Italy, Turkey and Cyprus according to a report by The Hollywood Reporter.
“The relationship with Fox International Channels allows us to expand our relationship with Fox and is an exciting development for our business in Europe,” said Paul Archey, svp of International Business Operations at Major League Baseball. “This deal exemplifies the growing popularity of baseball across Europe and will provide increased access to telecasts for our many passionate fans.”
It remains to be seen, if they will have a better standing than ESPN America which attracted only a few viewers.