Bristol sports programmer ESPN has acquired the rights to screen Premier League soccer highlights on UK mobile phones, Reuters said, citing a published British report.
The rights to all 380 Barclays Premier League matches were previously held by pay-TV rival British Sky Broadcasting and will allow ESPN to transmit in-match and post-match highlights to soccer fans’ phones for the next three seasons, Britain’s Daily Telegraph said in its Wednesday edition.
“Mobile devices are an indispensable lifeline for football fans, who expect easy, quick access to the latest goals and action wherever they are,” Lynne Frank, ESPN’s senior vice president and managing director, said in a statement.
“Adding these rights will allow us to advance our commitment to delivering great sport across the many screens UK fans use each day.”
Last year ESPN won the right to show 46 live English Premier League soccer matches for the 2009-2010 season and 23 matches for the following three years in Britain in a hastily arranged auction.
ESPN did not say how much it had paid for the mobile rights. The sports channel said specific details of price plans and products would be unveiled in coming weeks.
