Spanish Government Wants To Force La Liga Clubs To Negotiate Collective Media Rights

The Spanish government is "preparing a law" that will require La Liga clubs to sell their media rights collectively, according to ECOTEUVE. This would "put an end to the current status quo," where in La Liga, Real Madrid and Barcelona make significantly more than the rest of the top-flight clubs. The Superior Sports Council is working to end the "dramatic differences" in media revenue between the two famous teams. Barcelona and Real Madrid practically split half of the TV revenue pot between themselves, more than €300M ($400M), and the other 18 teams, "who are left with the crumbs." Barcelona and Real Madrid receive around €160M ($213) per season, while the third team in the rankings, Valencia, receives €42M ($56M) (ECOTEUVE, 1/18).