The Super Bowl Champion Los Angeles Rams have landed broadcasting rights agreements to air the team's preseason games in Mexico, Australia, New Zealand and China during the 2022 season.
To kick off the season, international broadcast partners will air the following Rams preseason games: Los Angeles Rams vs. Houston Texans on Friday, August 19 at 7:00 p.m. PT and Los Angeles Rams vs. Cincinnati Bengals on Saturday, August 27 at 3:00 p.m. PT. Each of the Rams' international broadcast partners also aired the team's first preseason showing against the Los Angeles Chargers on Saturday, August 13.
"We are proud to bring more Rams football to our fans around the world," said Stephanie Cheng, Head of International, Los Angeles Rams. "Each of our partners are leading sources of sports content for fans in their markets and we are thrilled to have these partnerships in Australia, China, Mexico and New Zealand."
In Mexico, Rams games and other team content will be broadcast on Open TV on "Canal 3" and across various Grupo Imagen platforms. Additionally, regular season games and select postseason games (if applicable) will be available to fans in Mexico on Grupo Imagen radio stations throughout the country during that term.
The Rams' Spanish radio play-by-play announcer Troy Santiago and color analyst Ricardo Lopez will share game insights and commentary during all game broadcasts on Grupo Imagen radio stations. Additionally, Juan Carlos Veraza and Gerardo Ruiz Massieu will be featured on the 2022 preseason broadcasts.
"We are thrilled to become the new home of the Los Angeles Rams in Mexico," said Javier Arnau, Ad Value Director of Grupo Imagen. "As the current champion of the NFL, as well as a great influence in the Mexican market, the agreement for the broadcasting rights aligns perfectly with Grupo Imagen's vision of partnering with the best sports properties."
In Australia and New Zealand, the Rams are teaming up with ESPN to broadcast preseason games and the team's season-long content series, Rams 360, on ESPN and ESPN2 channels for the 2022 season.
Rams games also will be available for fans to view in China on Tencent's platforms, their partner network, as well as digital sites and mobile applications throughout the season. Games will be called by 傅皓南 Fu Haonan、邢天宇Xing Tianyu and 杨木Yang Mu.
For all schedule details, fans and viewers in each international market can visit www.therams.com/schedule/2022/.
Last year, the Rams were granted access to International Home Marketing Areas (IHMA) in Australia, China in Mexico. The team later added New Zealand as one of their IHMAs in May of 2021.
The IHMA program grants NFL clubs access to international territories for marketing, fan engagement and commercialization as part of an important, long-term, strategic effort to enable clubs to build their global brands while driving NFL fan growth internationally.
The Rams are building on current efforts and took a digital-first approach in each market, leveraging digital programming and platforms to engage fans abroad more deeply with the team. In Australia and New Zealand, Rams fans should follow Los Angeles Rams on Facebook (@LosAngelesRams) and Instagram (@LARamsAustralia) to keep up with the latest information and Australia and New Zealand-specific content. In China, Rams fans can access the latest information and China-specific content on Weibo, Douyin and Kuaishou.
The Rams have a long history with Mexico, accentuated in 2018 when they prepared to host a game in Mexico City and engaged with the local community, civic partners, and fans there. The various connections between Mexico and Los Angeles across culture, geographic proximity, and tourism are infused through Rams gamedays, content and fan engagement efforts such as: the Vamos Rams platform; Spanish language content including game broadcasts on ESPN Deportes; and the NFL's only Mariachi band (Mariachi Rams). In addition to the existing Vamos Rams channels on Twitter (@VamosRams) and therams.com, the Rams launched Vamos Rams on Facebook (@VamosRamsNFL) and Instagram (@VamosRamsNFL) in 2022.
