LaLiga, the new brand name of the Spanish Football League (LFP), has said that international deals for the Spanish top tier will be struck regardless of whether it has complete control of clubs’ media rights for the 2015-16 season.
LaLiga said that all television operators interested in making offers or requesting information can do so until June 29.
The league did not specify the length of any contract being sought, but it emerged late last week that the Mediapro agency will serve as the international rights distribution partner of LaLiga for six seasons, from 2015-16 to 2020-21. On Friday, Mediapro tendered international rights in selected territories for the three seasons from 2015-16 to 2017-18.
Mediapro has agreed a deal with LaLiga to allow a centralised rights-sales process to be introduced from the start of the 2015-16 season. According to multiple reports, Mediapro has agreed to release 38 clubs from their current rights agreements with the agency, allowing the new process to be brought in immediately. The Liga and second-tier Segunda División comprises 42 clubs.
The centralised process was expected to be introduced from the 2016-17 season under the Royal Decree, which was approved in May.
Commenting on the process, LaLiga said on Monday evening: “The sale of the television rights by LaLiga, for which Mediapro Sports will act as an agent, will be offered in a unique package for all the matches exclusively or not, with the offers being analysed together once all bids have been made. Once this process has been finalised, Mediapro Sports will contact personally the television operators from around the world that are interested.”
LaLiga added: “The kick-off times for the matches have been set exclusively at prime-time during the past few seasons, a strategy that has allowed all the clubs… an advantage with more projection and visibility in international markets. This criteria to achieve maximum exposure when it comes to establishing the kick-off times of the matches will continue in place with the additional benefit that the international operators ought to be able to emit the games via their websites. In the case that LaLiga doesn’t have all the audiovisual rights for the 2015-16 season, it will negotiate the amount due to the clubs that do own the rights.”
In other news, LaLiga has welcomed the decision of Commercial Court number 11 in Madrid to block alleged illegal transmissions of games by the Rojadirecta.me website.
The decision granted precautionary measures requested by Mediapro and its pay-television broadcaster Gol T. Should those responsible for the website not stop transmissions in the next seven days, the judge ordered to “suspend the transmission, the data banks, the access to telecommunications networks or any other equivalent service” of the platform.
The preventative measures requested by Mediapro and Gol T, and accepted by the judge, form part of a judicial process undertaken against Rojadirecta.me and its principal promoter Igor Seoane for alleged infraction of intellectual property rights and unfair competition.