Mediapro snaps up LaLiga rights

The Mediapro agency has acquired three packages of LaLiga Spanish football domestic rights for a total fee of €55.8m ($63m) over three years, from 2016-17 to 2018-19.

The rights, covering the top-tier Liga, second-tier Segunda División and Copa del Rey knockout competition, will be exploited on Gol, a new free-to-air sports channel that was launched by Mediapro earlier this month.

Mediapro acquired Lot 1 – covering one free-to-air Liga game per week featuring clubs not involved in European competitions – for €13.8m.

The agency’s deal for Lot 3, worth €27m, covers free-to-air highlights of all LaLiga content, including up to 12 minutes per match.

The final package acquired by Mediapro was Lot 4, covering six live Segunda División games per week, in a deal worth €15m.

Mediapro will be able to strike sublicensing deals with other media companies covering the rights.

LaLiga, which operates all of the competitions, said that reserve prices were not met for Lots 2 and 5 and set a new June 28 deadline for bids for the packages in a new auction.