OPINION: FC Juarez Partners With Televisa…UGH.

For the Bravos de FC Juarez moving to Liga MX, Mexico's premiere soccer division, came at an additional price, and one that doesn't have to do with money. On top of the yet to be disclosed amount of money paid to Lobos BUAP to take their spot in Liga MX the Bravos apparently had to comply or honor the existing television contract that Lobos BUAP had with Televisa.

This was one of the first things that was made know yesterday when Co Vice-Presidents Alvarado Navarro and Rodrigo Cuaron and Bravos head coach Gabriel Caballero held a press conference late yesterday afternoon in Cancun, Quintana Roo where preseason league meetings are taking place.

Bravos was to enter their final year of a 3-year contract with ESPN this upcoming 2019-2020 season who had given the team from the Borderland unprecedented television coverage in the Ascenso MX League bi-nationally in Mexico and in the United States. This included primetime television spots to broadcast the games live along with one-hour pregame shows and live postgame analysis and commentary as the lead on SportsCenter immediately after the game.

Executives from the "worldwide leader in sports" seemed to be in the owners box at Benito Juarez Olympic Stadium every two weeks, and the word was that ESPN was very happy with FC Juarez and could not wait for them to be in Liga MX so that both could mutually benefit from this relationship that was becoming unique in Mexican soccer.

It is a safe assumption that it will be difficult for Televisa to offer this kind of coverage and attention to FC Juarez especially since they have the broadcasting rights to Club America, Chivas, Pumas, Cruz Azul, Toluca, Tigres, Necaxa and Atletico San Luis. Anyone have the slightest doubt where the Bravos position on that totem pole will be?

Its bad and disgusting enough that at Televisa all roads lead to Club America whom Televisa owns and shows blatant preference to at every turn. FC Juarez will now be at their mercy as far as what day of the weekend and and at what time home matches will take place. Oh, and then there's the on-air personalities, they have a broadcast bias because they have their favorites and have no problem letting it be known.

While the details of the agreement with Televisa and FC Juarez have not been released, it was confirmed to 600 ESPN El Paso that there was still 2 years remaining on the contract that Lobos BUAP had with the most powerful television network in Mexico. Let us hope that there was no sort of extension between the Bravos and Televisa, more importantly let us hope that these next 2 years fly by and FC Juarez can escape and distance themselves from the powerful grasp of Televisa.