Telemundo Media acquires exclusive U.S. rights to Club León.

Telemundo Media announced it acquired the exclusive media rights for the United States of all the home games of the popular Mexican first division soccer team Club León, effective immediately. As “The Official U.S. Network of León,” Telemundo will have the rights across all its platforms – broadcast, online and cable – to all of the pre-season, regular season and, if they qualify, the playoff home games of the popular team. The first game to air on Telemundo under the new deal will feature Club León vs. Chivas on Friday, September 14 at 10:30pm ET.

“Coming off a great performance with the 2012 London Olympics and having acquired the rights to the FIFA World Cup starting in 2015, this multi-year deal expands our portfolio of soccer properties and reaffirms Telemundo Media’s leadership position,” said Jorge Hidalgo, Executive Vice President of Sports at Telemundo Media. “With the León games, our audience will continue to enjoy the best professional Mexican soccer they’ve come to expect from Deportes Telemundo.”

Currently in third place in the first division of the Mexican soccer league, Club León is based in the city of León, in the state of Guanajuato, Mexico. The club’s origins date back to the 1920s when a group of local businessman founded León Atlético. After ten years in the second division, León was recently promoted to Mexico’s first division for the 2012–2013 season. In the past, León has won the first division title five times, in 1948, 1949, 1952, 1956 and 1992, and became the first Mexican “Campeonísimo” (winner of the league and the México Cup in the same year) in 1949.