Telemundo acquires rights to CONCACAF Olimpic Qualifiers.

On the heels of Telemundo Media’s acquisition of the exclusive Spanish-language U.S. media rights to FIFA World Cup Soccer across all platforms (except radio) from 2015 through 2022, the network announced that it has secured the exclusive Spanish-language and all media rights (except for CONCACAF Marketing & TV’s co-exclusive institutional website rights on www.CONCACAF.com and radio) to the CONCACAF Olympic Qualifiers for London 2012.

The agreement includes U.S. (including Puerto Rico) Spanish-language and all media rights (except for CONCACAF Marketing & TV’s co-exclusive institutional website rights on www.CONCACAF.com and radio) for the CONCACAF Olympic Qualifiers for the men’s tournament from March 22 – April 2. Mexico and the US Under-23 squads will be part of these qualifiers, along with Canada, Honduras, El Salvador, Panama, and two teams from the Caribbean yet to be determined. Telemundo Media and Universal Sports will produce the 15 men’s matches. Universal Sports Network’s rights include exclusive English-language telecasts of all United States matches and the finals from each of the two tournaments.

“Building on the momentum of our landmark FIFA World Cup acquisition for 2015-2022, we are excited to have been selected as the new home of the CONCACAF Olympic Qualifiers,” said Emilio Romano, President, Telemundo Media. “This new deal further expands Deportes Telemundo’s footprint in sports programming and reinforces our commitment to our audience to provide the best and most comprehensive coverage of the most popular and loved sport in the world.”

“We are extremely pleased that our Olympic qualifying tournaments will be seen on Telemundo,” said CONCACAF General Secretary Chuck Blazer. “With their focus on Olympic sports, we have no doubt that both networks will serve as a great platform for fans to watch our teams attempt to qualify for the 2012 Olympic Games in London.”

“This latest acquisition demonstrates once again that Telemundo is the destination for the premiere sporting events our viewers want to see,” added Jorge Hidalgo, senior executive vice president of Network Sports. “As the exclusive home of the Olympics in Spanish in the U.S., we are proud to showcase the qualifying tournament for our region. This deal solidifies Telemundo’s position as the ultimate destination for the best soccer programming, presented by the best sports team in the industry.”