Telefónica hopeful of beIN Sports deal

Telefónica’s director general for Catalunya, Kim Faura, is hopeful that the Spanish telecommunications company can agree a deal soon with the Mediapro agency for its IPTV platform Movistar TV to carry pay-television channel beIN Sports.

Faura remains confident of striking a deal “as soon as possible” despite saying that Mediapro is asking for a “very high” carriage fee for beIN Sports.

However, Mediapro has said that there have been no fresh developments in talks with the telco for the past four weeks.

BeIN Sports launched in Spain this summer and is available on platforms operated by telcos Vodafone, Orange and regional operator Telecable.

BeIN Sports shows coverage of football’s Uefa Champions League and Europa League, as well as the English Premier League, Italian Serie A and French Ligue 1 top divisions.