Mediapro buys 2022 World Cup rights in Spain, will launch dedicated channel

Mediapro has acquired exclusive rights in Spain to the 2022 Fifa World Cup and will open its own 24-hour channel dedicated to the tournament.

The El Español website says the Mediapro agency intends to distribute the channel on all possible platforms, which will likely result in lengthy negotiations with telcos Telefonica, Vodafone and Orange.

Mediapro can also exploit World Cup rights on its commercial broadcaster Gol and on the beIN Connect OTT service, which it owns in a joint venture with the beIN Media Group.

Mediapro bought the rights after a tender was launched by Fifa on November 13. Mediapro has acquired rights to the 2022 Fifa World Cup, the 2019 Fifa Women’s World Cup, and the U20 and U17 World Cups played between 2019 and 2022.