By Stuart Thomson
Spain’s LaLiga has sold domestic broadcast rights for the next five seasons of the league to sports streamer DAZN and Telefónica’s Movistar+ for a total of €4.95 billion(US$5.59 billion0.
Movistar+ will broadcast a total of five matches per matchday plus three full matchdays, while DAZN will broadcast five matches per matchday.
LaLiga said that the total figure represents an increase compared to the previous cycle for similar packages.
The league said that it had managed to keep its audiovisual revenues steady at a time when most major European leagues reached a ceiling or experienced reduced valuations in their most recent cycles.
It said that it five-year bidding period had contributed to stability.
“This most recent tender has seen new broadcast players appear with disruptive distribution models adapted to the current market. This new configuration will lead to a better distribution of content, and thus provide fans with greater access to football,” LaLiga said.
“LaLiga is delighted to continue its relationship with Telefonica as a partner for a large part of its audiovisual rights, while also welcoming DAZN, the leading global sports streaming platform, to continue to grow professional Spanish football.”
LaLiga SmartBank, the hospitality channel, and the LaLiga Santander free-to-air match are expected to be put out for tender between February and March 2022.
DAZN said that the win meant that LaLiga would joint its existing “accessible and affordable” line up of sports content for the Spanish market.
In addition to LaLiga, DAZN subscribers will be able to watch the Copa del Rey along with international football tournaments such as the Premier League, Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana. Co-CEO, DAZN Group, James Rushton said: “The award of these LaLiga rights represents a strategic local investment for us in a key market, and is all part of the global momentum that we are driving across our business, which continues at pace. This is further proof that we are well past the tipping point in the migration of fans from viewing sports on linear pay TV, to streaming services,” said CEO James Rushton.
