With a pair of studios and hundreds of people on the ground, beIN Sports will have a sizable presence in Brazil for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
A World Cup rights-holder in France and Middle East, beIN is sending a 400-member contingent to Brazil, including 15 dedicated to its U.S. services, which televise soccer action from three of Europe’s top circuits: La Liga, Serie A and Ligue 1 in English and Spanish.
Antonio Briceño, deputy managing director, beIN Sports North America, said the U.S. programming networks will present a pair of one-hour daily shows, kicking off on June 10. “It will be a mix of live coverage from Brazil, as well as from our studio in Miami. We will have expert players and coached sharing their insights.”
Those luminaries include Arrigo Sacchi, Arsene Wenger, Ruud Gullit, Christian Vieri, Sergio Goycochea, Michael Laudrup, Bodo Illner, Zinho, Rivaldo, Alex Aguinaga, George Weah, Jose Mari Bakero, Nuno Gomes, Juan Pablo Angel, Glen Hoodle and Marcelo Salas, among others.
Express Extra Brazil will air nightly on both services, with alternating start times. The highlights-analysis show will premiere in English at 10 p.m., followed by the Spanish-language program at 11 p.m. from June 10-22. From June 23 to a wrap-up version on July 14, the day after the tourney concludes, the start times will move up to 9 p.m. and 10 p.m., respectively.
“They will be different shows,” said Briceno. “The idea is to cater the content to the different audiences.”
The programming will be available to beIN North America’s 22-million subscriber base -- 7 million for its Spanish-language service and 15 million for its English-language network. It has consummated deals with nine of the top 10 U.S distributors and expects to add Charter to its roster before the 2014-15 European seasons kick off late this summer. -
Current subscribers will be able to check out reports from beIN’s studio overlooking Copabana Beach (pictured, while under construction), which Briceno said would be the largest for any network covering the World Cup. The company also has a studio within FIFA's International Broadcast Centre in Rio de Janiero..
