With Real Madrid-FC Barcelona, ESPN Preps for Most Ambitious LaLiga Match Coverage Yet The 12th El Cl sico on ESPN platforms is part of long-term deal with Spanish league By Mark J Burns, SVG Contributor
Friday, May 9, 2025 - 11:52 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
ESPN will produce its most comprehensive coverage of any LaLiga match on its platforms this upcoming weekend when it broadcasts El Cl sico between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona. For the first time, the rivalry match will air on ESPN as well as on ESPN+ and ESPN Deportes.
El Cl sico is the gold standard for domestic club soccer rivalries, says Manny de la Fe, VP, production, global event and studio, ESPN. With the arrival of Kylian Mbapp to Real Madrid, the emergence of 17-year-old Lamine Yamal, and the bevy of global soccer stars on either club, the fourth and final match of the season between the clubs represents an inflection point for this generation of stars.
It is easily the most consequential, he continues, with a potential LaLiga title on the line. Four points currently separate first-place Barcelona and second-place Real Madrid.
From left: ESPN Deportes commentators Mauricio Pedroza, Alex Pareja, Moises Llorens, and Rodrigo Faez
Sunday's match, which will broadcast at 10:15 a.m. ET, will be the 12th El Cl sico on ESPN platforms since the company signed an expansive and long-term contract in 2021 to broadcast top-flight Spanish soccer domestically.
According to Leigh Michaud, manager, remote operations, ESPN, the network is partnering with MediaPro on coverage of El Cl sico, including providing an OB van, 33 technical crew members, equipment, a concourse set, and two pitchside desk locations. The match will be a world feed provided by the host broadcaster. The production will deploy 40-plus cameras, including several super-slo-mos, as part of the world feed.
Over 45 years at ESPN, de la Fe says, we have established a 24/7 sports news and information brand/DNA that fans have come to expect when big events happen in sports. The 261st El Cl sico is one example of a marquee event that requires our ambitious commitment across media - from linear and digital studio shows through unmatched event presentation.
ESPN's set for El Cl sico overlooks the Port Vell in Barcelona.
ESPN's goal with coverage of El Cl sico, he adds, is to let the viewer at home experience the event and the spectacle around it and to guide fans towards a better understanding of the stories unfolding before them on their linear or digital device.
Play-by-play announcer Ian Darke and ex-Real Madrid player and soccer analyst Steve McManaman will provide English-language commentary, and Fernando Palomo and Eduardo Biscayart will handle Spanish-language duties.
We have assembled a collection of experts who cover the league, understand the passion and history of this rivalry for our coverage, notes de la Fe. We want the viewer to feel like they are in Montju c, Barcelona.
Featured shows and segments from Barcelona this weekend will air across SportsCenter, ESPN Deportes, and ESPN FC and LaLiga Al D a on YouTube, and other outlets.
In addition, ESPN's social-media team plans to capture and distribute El Cl sico content, including interviews with rivalry legends, across TikTok, Instagram, X and other platforms. ESPN reporters Jordi Blanco and Rodrigo Faez will headline event coverage from Madrid. Soccer writers Sam Mardsen (FC Barcelona), Alex Kirkland (Real Madrid), and Graham Hunter will contribute columns and insider perspectives around El Cl sico.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
05/06/2026
MRI-Simmons and S&P Global Mobility are expanding advanced audience capabilities...
05/06/2026
New Nielsen data shows insurance ad spend grew 11%, while consumers remain highl...
05/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
05/06/2026
ASG Promotes Joe Marchitto to Western Regional CTO
Brie Clayton June 5, 2026
0 Comments
Appointment to Support Engineering Alignment and Client Experi...
05/06/2026
Stargate Studios Colombia Uses DaVinci Resolve Studio for Vertical Microdramas
Brie Clayton June 5, 2026
0 Comments
End to end post in one platform al...
05/06/2026
People Need to Come First When We Use AI
Andy Marken June 5, 2026
0 Comments
It's just surviving. Life's very existence requires destruction....
05/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
05/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
05/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
05/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
05/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
05/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
05/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
05/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
05/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
05/06/2026
Frequency, the engine powering many of the world's leading streaming television channels, today announced the launch of In-Scene Advertising, a new monetiza...
05/06/2026
Berklee Study Reveals Video Has Become Essential to Music Careers Survey findings show social platforms have become the primary source of music for video cont...
05/06/2026
RT Radio 1 Folk Awards to take place on Tuesday 10th November 2026, Vicar Street, Dublin
Moya Brennan, D nal Lunny, Mary Black and Christy Moore among previou...
04/06/2026
Sony Electronics is introducing the SRG-AS10, a 4K 60p-compatible PTZ auto-frami...
04/06/2026
This recent grad from Spring, TX, led creative-video output for the Aggies' men's basketball team last season and has been producing video and creating ...
04/06/2026
For the first time at a women's golf major, every player in the field will r...
04/06/2026
Three Panasonic PT-RQ45 40,000-lumen 3-Chip DLP projectors made their first live...
04/06/2026
Bitmovin and Akamai have announced a collaboration with NRJ Group, a French mult...
04/06/2026
Telestream will exhibit at InfoComm 2026 (Booth N7952), demonstrating media work...
04/06/2026
Sony has announced the development of RIALTO 65, a 65mm format image sensor block for the VENICE 2 digital cinema camera, targeting release in the first half of...
04/06/2026
KOKUSAI DENKI Electric America will exhibit at InfoComm 2026 (Booth N8025, June ...
04/06/2026
Bell Media's TSN and RDS are the exclusive Canadian broadcasters of FIFA Wor...
04/06/2026
The Challenge: Receiving Heavy Media Files From Road Games Quickly and ReliablyT...
04/06/2026
MASV, a managed file transfer platform used in broadcast and live sports product...
04/06/2026
NESN has announced the appointment of Fahad Haider as Vice President of Operations and Engineering. Haider returns to NESN, where he previously served as Vice P...
04/06/2026
David J. Halberstam, who spent almost 50 years in sports as a broadcaster and an executive, died June 2 after a years-long battle with brain cancer.
Over his l...
04/06/2026
Although collegiate production programs are tasked with delivering high-quality ...
04/06/2026
California studio, two production trucks, global distribution system are combine...
04/06/2026
New global program empowers and supports storytellers through scriptwriting course and access to industry experts
TikTok and Sundance Institute today announce...
04/06/2026
Steinberg DAWs now boast in-depth Tonalic integration
Celemony's innovative virtual session musician plug-in has just received an update that brings ARA...
04/06/2026
Get Hands-On With Over 20 Mic Brands
GearExpo UK is fast approaching, and if you've been looking for a chance to check out some new mics, then you'r...
04/06/2026
Combos feature new Amplifier Intelligence engine
Positive Grid's latest release sees the company introduce two new combo amplifiers that promise to offe...
04/06/2026
Is Your Job Making You Work this June?
4 June, 2026
Media releases
SBS Launches the World Cup Watchers' Rights Association to Stand Up For Australians&...
04/06/2026
Statement regarding unauthorised use of SBS logos on third party social content
4 June, 2026
Media releases
SBS has become aware of social media posts in c...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Bitmovin, a leading provider of video streaming infrastructure, and Akamai, the cybersecurity and cloud computing company that powers and protects business onli...
04/06/2026
American Underground (AU), the Startup Hub of the South and a community of mor...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
With Real Madrid-FC Barcelona, ESPN Preps for Most Ambitious LaLiga Match Coverage Yet The 12th El Cl sico on ESPN platforms is part of long-term deal with Spanish league By Mark J Burns, SVG Contributor 
