The Disney-owned channels are into their fourth World Cup and will split the games between ASBC, ESPN and ESPN2.
The networks acquired the rights from Soccer United Marketing, an affiliate of Major League Soccer. SUM said it basically gets the air time for free, sells advertising and covers production costs, while the networks' affiliates sell some advertising time.
SUM paid about $40million to buy the US TV and radio rights to the 2002 and 2006 World Cups and the 2003 Women's World Cup from German media company Kirch Group. Kirch purchased the rights from FIFA, soccer's governing body, in May 2001.
