La Liga to launch streaming platform
August 9, 2021
From David Del Valle in Madrid
Spain’s La Liga and private equity firm CVC plan to launch their own streaming platform, according to business daily El Confidencial, challenging telco operators which offer football match streaming in their packages.
La Liga agreed to a deal in which CVC would invest €2.7 billion for 10 per cent revenue and a 10 per cent stake in a newly-formed company housing a range of the league’s commercial activities.
A proprietary streaming platform is one of the key plans under consideration to drive up earnings for the league. If it goes ahead, such a platform would threaten current rightholder Telefónica, which pays La Liga €1 billion per season for the right to stream football matches to customers who pay a premium for sports packages.
Telefónica’s contract expires in 2023. France’s Orange has a sublicensing agreement, under which it pays Telefónica for the rights to broadcast fixtures from the 2021/2022 season.
While customers of Movistar pay up to €130 a month for live football in a convergent package, La Liga and CVC believe they can offer a simple package of just football streaming for around €13, El Confidencial said.