Spanish Liga’s free-to-air obligation may end

The Spanish Liga's requirement that one football match per week be shown on free-to-air television could be abolished, according to news website El Confidencial.

The website said the move comes as the Spanish government prepares to draft a new Professional Sports Act, which will include a section dedicated to the governance of football.

The Spanish football league, the LFP, is currently obliged by law to provide one game per week on free-to-air television. The law has been criticised by the league, football clubs, rights agencies and broadcasters.

The ending of the measure is said to form part of talks between the league and the government over a new media rights strategy for Spanish football, which includes the goal of introducing a more centralised media rights sales model. Liga clubs currently sell rights to their own matches individually.

Spanish commercial broadcaster Mediaset is the rights-holder of the free-to-air match in a deal running from the end of the 2012-13 season to 2014-15.

The match is played on either a Monday or Friday night. In the previous rights cycle, 2009-10 to 2010-11, it was on Saturday night. The value of the rights has fallen in the new cycle partly due to the move from Saturday, but mainly because Real Madrid and Barcelona games are no longer included in the package.