Sportradar has announced that it has won data rights for South American football, also becoming the official betting partner of CONMEBOL. The sports data analytics and technology business was in the competitive betting process. It is now the betting and also audio-visual partner under the rights granted for three competitions of CONMEBOL for the next four seasons.
Multi-year in nature, the deal between Sportradar and CONMEBOL covers competitions, namely the Recopa Sudamericana, the Copa Libertadores, and the Copa Sudamericana. The worldwide rights for the said tournaments are all set for the next four seasons.
Every sport has a fanbase, but the kind of fan base that South American football has is pretty immense. Winning the rights has definitely come at a certain cost; however, Sportradar should have cognizant of the fact that it is a great responsibility.
As per the latest betting news, Jose Astigarraga, the General Secretary of CONMEBOL, said that he was glad to strengthen ties with Sportradar, adding that he was confident that Sportradar displaying a great show to all the fans of South American football. Jose also highlighted that the football club has a historic reputation that has been built over 60 years.
Carsten Koerl, the Chief Executive Officer of Sportradar, acknowledged the fact that South American football indeed has a very passionate fan base across the globe. They are looking forward to working with CONMEBOL for a supportive engagement while being delighted to have been chosen as the official partner.
Having said that, this is not the first time that Sportradar and CONMEBOL have joined hands together. Their partnership dates back to the past, to the time since Sportradar is providing the football association with risk and compliance services via the Intelligence and Investigations unit. One of the core services of Sportradar is checking the eligibility of senior members of the confederation along with member associations.
It is obvious that the bidding process was competitive. The little-known fact remains that Sportradar was once in a legal battle with Genius. It was June when Genius announced the agreement to extend their 2019 deal with Football DataCo over the management of the data rights of the Premier League. If through, it would have gone on to cover the services till 2025, putting a dent in the operations of Sportradar.
Sportradar then pursued legal action with an argument that the agreement of Genius was in violation of the competition laws of the European Union and the United Kingdom.
After some heated arguments, both came to a mutual decision to resolve it out of court. Sportradar was granted a sub-license to a delayed secondary feed in 2022.
Simply put, Sportradar has been trying to get its hands on a good quality football tournament for some time now. Securing the audio-visual and betting rights for South American football is a boost to its operations. It is also a chance for Sportradar to better connect fans with their favorite football moments and stars.
