Spain’s three major telcos have refused to match the Mediapro agency’s minimum asking price to carry coverage of the Uefa Champions League and Europa League, according to daily newspaper El País.
The report said that Movistar and Orange tabled two bids that were considerably below Mediapro’s benchmark, while Vodafone refused to submit a bid.
The telcos had previously expressed concerns about what they perceived as inflated fees being demanded by Mediapro.
Last year, a joint venture between Mediapro and pay-television broadcaster beIN Sports was confirmed as the exclusive rights-holder in Spain for the Champions League and Europa League. The domestic rights will run for three seasons, from 2018-19 to 2020-21.
According to the newspaper, Mediapro can now consider alternative approaches, including showing the coverage via its own BeIN Connect online platform.
The report added that it was still possible Mediapro and either Movistar or Orange could compromise on a fee, but Vodafone would be excluded from further discussions, having not submitted a bid in the initial phase of the rights-sales process.
Meanwhile the likes of Amazon, Facebook and Google could be interested in OTT rights, although the newspaper noted that they have never paid such exorbitant fees for sports rights in any country.
Mediapro told the newspaper that it has “received offers from almost all operators”.