🇲🇽📺 Non-broadcast of Pachuca-América another 'only in Liga MX' moment that hurts fans
My show is NOT on PLUS: Gold Cup legends + U-17 qualifiers in the Conca-catch-up
Hey, you watch the Pachuca vs. América game Saturday?
I didn’t. And, odds are, you didn’t either unless you were in the Estadio Hidalgo or have a connection who was.
As part of a long-running dispute between various media companies in Mexico1, a judge ruled no one would be able to broadcast this weekend’s Liga MX match between Pachuca, a recent continental champion set to take part in FIFA’s Club World Cup, and Club América, the three-time defending Liga MX champion and one of the most popular soccer clubs in the world.
That applied to the local broadcasters, to Televisa, who have the rights to broadcast Pachuca home matches in the United States, and anyone else. Initially, it appeared there may not be VAR, given that the feeds the referee crews analyze are provided by the broadcasters. That eventually was resolved, fortunately for the league since a VAR decision played a significant part in deciding the outcome of the match, which Pachuca won, 1-0.
This is a throwback to a time sports fans would prefer not to return to, one in which you can not simply find the streaming service you like and purchase a subscription to access essentially any event that interests you. The highlights looked like this yesterday but appear to have since been taken down.
TUDN does have some action with natural sound (perhaps I’ll use it to make a play-by-play sample!), but it’s far from the usual broadcast quality fans have come to expect from one of the biggest leagues in the Americas.
It once again illustrates one of the biggest issues in Liga MX, a problem the league’s owners choose to continue to allow to limit their own growth. Rather than having a federated TV deal, individual clubs work out agreements with broadcasters.