MUMBAI: Following on from the successful sale of media rights in the home market, Barclays Premier League has commenced the sale process for Americas which is expected to witness fierce bidding particularly in the lucrative United States market.

The Premier League?s Invitation to Tender (ITT) spanning seasons 2013/14 - 2015/16 has been divided into five broadcast territories: USA, Canada, South & Central America, The Caribbean, and Brazil.

The Premier League had secured a record breaking television deal worth ?3.018 billion with pay TV broadcaster Sky Sports and British Telecom for the UK market.

Executives at leading Premier League clubs are expecting a similar windfall from Americas (read US) where the game considered a foreign import is gaining popularity even as local leagues are thriving.

According to Bloomberg, the US will see bidding war as incumbent rights holder Fox Entertainment Group will have to overcome competition from Walt Disney?s ESPN and newly launched Al Jazeera?s beIN Sport, who are expected to bid aggressively for the rights. NBC Sports is also expected to throw in its hat into the ring.

MUMBAI: Fox International Channels and the RCN Television Group (RCN), headquartered in Colombia, jointly announced the formation of a joint venture which will launch MundoFox, a new Spanish-language television network catering to the US Hispanic market.

The network, scheduled to launch during the Fall season of 2012 in Hispanic homes nationwide, will aim to bring a similar sensibility as the Fox Network to Latino audiences.

Fox International Channels president, CEO Hernan Lopez said, "Our partnership with RCN is a key step in the launch of MundoFox. There is an increasing demand for quality Spanish-language content in the U.S. from both viewers and advertisers. FOX saw similar dynamics in play 25 years ago when it launched the Fox network, and it would be a missed opportunity not to provide an alternative for the 50+ million Latino viewers who currently have limited options in Spanish-language broadcast television. Our partnership with RCN will help us do this and we aim do it in a big way."

RCN CEO Gabriel Reyes said, "RCN has provided the main Hispanic networks in the US with much of their prime-time content for over two decades. We now plan to maximize our capabilities and bring an increasing variety of fresh and innovative productions directly to Spanish-speaking viewers. I am certain that Fox is the best partner to make this a successful network".

Fox International Channels operates 350 channels in 35 countries, and has had success with a consortium of three cable networks targeting the U.S. Hispanic consumer: FOX Deportes, Utilisima and NatGeo Mundo.

RCN is one of the largest producers and exporters of Spanish-language television in the world and operates cable channels throughout the Americas.

Content for the network will come from several sources, including:

1. RCN Television. Past successes have been the original ?Ugly Betty?, called ?Betty La Fea?, the only Spanish-Language series to have inspired a mainstream US network drama; and ?El Capo?, an action-packed prime time daily series.

2. Fox International Channels ? over the last several years, Fox has produced weekly dramas for prime time that combine US-style, character-driven story-telling and visuals with Latino sensibility. Additionally, it has produced gripping factual series and a wide array of lifestyle shows.

3. Fox Deportes ? the sports brand for the U.S. Hispanic market, with US Spanish-language rights to the UFC, as well as various soccer tournaments, including Copa Santander Libertadores, Copa Bridgestone Sudamericana, and European tournaments. Some of these events will be broadcast on MundoFox.

4. Shine Group ? a producer of unscripted and scripted programming worldwide (including formats ?The Biggest Loser?, ?MasterChef? and ?One Born Every Minute? and international dramas including ?Merlin? and ?The Hour, will be producing their first original Spanish language content for MundoFox.

5. NTN24 ? RCN?s international channel that offers Spanish-language news, analysis, opinion, sports and entertainment news programs from a uniquely Latin point of view. NTN24 also produces online, English language content with an emphasis on news from the Americas.

6. Third-party Suppliers ? Additionally, MundoFox will license and/or commission original programmes and movies from a variety of third party producers, both from the English-language world as well as Spanish.

Although distribution is currently being established, MundoFox has plans to be carried on stations covering 75 per cent of US households. The network currently has several affiliate deals being finalised in top Hispanic markets across the US.