Telefónica will bid for the collective rights to the Liga, the top division of Spanish football, when a collective model is introduced, according to the telecommunications company’s chief executive, José María Álvarez Pallete.
Earlier this week, it was confirmed that Telefónica has dislodged the Mediapro agency as Barcelona’s official rights-holder for the 2015-16 season, the Spanish Liga club has announced.
Liga clubs are hoping that a collective model will be introduced for the 2016-17 season and recently urged the country’s government to introduce the necessary legislation as soon as possible.
“We are a company that will develop knowledge with the club [Barcelona] to get ready for this auction [for collective rights],” Pallete said at a press conference. “We are very interested in the league.”
Pallette added that Telefónica had already begun to strengthen its sports rights portfolio by acquiring rights for Formula One motor-racing and MotoGP motorcycling.