Mediapro set to make offer to Telefonica’s rivals – report

The Mediapro agency is preparing to offer football rights to the rivals of telecommunications company Telefónica in Spain in an effort to ease antitrust concerns, according to Bloomberg.

The news agency, citing people familiar with the matter, said Orange and Vodafone will receive an offer to broadcast LaLiga and other domestic tournaments for three seasons starting in 2016-17 as well as Uefa Champions League and Europa League matches from 2016 to 2018. Mediapro will reportedly make the proposal in the next few days.

The development comes after it was reported earlier this week that the Comisión Nacional de los Mercados y La Competencia (CNMC), Spain’s competition regulator, is looking into the agreement signed between Telefónica and Mediapro for carriage of the new beIN Sports LaLiga pay-television channel.

The Reuters news agency, citing inside sources, said there “might be signs of breach of the commitments accepted by Telefónica when it bought Canal Plus”. In April, the CNMC gave the green light to Telefónica’s takeover of Spanish pay-television operator Canal Plus, subject to certain conditions.

Orange and Vodafone this month claimed that rival telco Telefónica should share carriage of beIN Sports LaLiga. Telefónica's DTS unit earlier agreed to pay Mediapro €2.4bn ($2.6bn) to carry beIN Sports LaLiga on an exclusive basis for three seasons, from 2016-17 to 2018-19.

Orange said that Telefónica “has an obligation to distribute the rights” while Vodafone said that the channel will have to be included in Telefónica’s wholesale package. Orange and Vodafone cited a condition imposed by the CNMC when the acquisition of Canal Plus by Telefónica was authorised. The condition said that Telefónica must share 50 per cent of its premium content, such as movies and sports coverage, with its rivals.

Coverage on the channel will include the top-tier LaLiga, second-tier Segunda División and the Copa del Rey knockout competition for all three seasons, plus matches from the Champions League and Europa League until at least the end of the 2017-18 campaign.