Sky takes rights for Major League Soccer

UK pay TV operator Sky has won the rights to exclusively broadcast live Major League Soccer (MLS) from the US for the first time. 

The four-year MLS deal begins in March, with Sky Sports managing director Barney Francis commenting that “football in the US and Canada has enormous potential for growth.”

The news comes in the same month that Sky agreed to pay £1.39 billion (€1.87 billion) per year for live Premier League football rights for the seasons 2016/2017 to 2018/2019.

At a total of £4.2 billion for the three years, this marks an 83% increase on the cost of Sky’s existing contract, but includes rights to air 126 fixtures per season, compared to 116 currently.