Mediapro founding partner Jaume Roures has announced that the rights and production agency will stop paying for media rights to football leagues and competitions if it is announced that properties it holds rights for will not be played in light of the Covid-19 shutdown.
Speaking to Spanish newspaper Diari de Girona, Roures said that Mediapro’s preference is for matches to be played behind closed doors but, in the event that leagues and tournaments are cancelled, Mediapro will not be paying its fees.
Roures said: “We play a small part of what football is played. Our case is different because if it’s not played, we don’t pay, but I prefer it to be played and paid for.”
Mediapro is one of the largest buyers of sporting rights in Europe with its current portfolio of rights including various rights to the Italian Serie A, French Ligue 1 and the Spanish LaLiga.
Roures has been outspoken during the Covid-19 outbreak, at one stage offering to broadcast the remainder of the Ligue 1 season amid the contractual disputes involving the league’s broadcast rights-holders Canal Plus and beIN Sports.
He has previously said to the media that he sees the media rights market as having peaked, stressing “the amounts spent on rights, in general, had reached the maximum already,” and that it is “obvious” that the media rights market would be affected by Covid-19.