LaLiga president Javier Tebas has said he expects the international rights sales process for Spanish football’s top two divisions to generate €600m ($671m).
The Mediapro agency has been appointed to market the collective international rights to LaLiga – the new brand name for the Spanish football league – for five seasons, from 2015-16 to 2019-20. The rights include 38 of the 42 Primera and Segunda División clubs.
“By selling the rights internationally and in small countries we will raise €600m,” Tebas said during a presentation in Madrid. “The strategy we carried out from LaLiga has been correct because it allowed us to hit the market with all 38 clubs by way of an operation with Mediapro, and be more competitive… The highly criticised dispersion of schedules in LaLiga is key for exploiting these rights.”
Tebas also appeared to rule out selling the rights to one company. “The audiovisual rights are not only going to be offered to one service, because every country takes its own distinct strategic decisions,” he said, before adding that bids had already been received from countries such as China, Germany and Albania.
It has been reported previously that Mediapro will guarantee the league €400m per season for its international rights, with the agency retaining the first €50m earned above the guarantee before taking a quarter of any income thereafter, with the rest going to the league.