Two people with "direct knowledge of the situation" said that Barcelona agreed to a "proposal to share" La Liga TV revenue "more equally among smaller teams," according to Alex Duff of BLOOMBERG. The sources, "who asked not to be identified," said that under the plan, Barcelona and Real Madrid would get "no more than four times as much as the lowest-paid La Liga team" starting in the '16-17 season. Real and Barcelona currently each get about $172M from TV production company Mediapro, "almost 6.5 times as much as the smallest of the 20 squads." The league, which wants to "make the championship more competitive, is aiming to incorporate the proposal into legislation by the end of the year." The plan "could see their broadcast income remain unchanged for between two and four years as smaller teams bridge some of the income gap." Spanish clubs "currently negotiate TV rights individually." Under its proposal, La Liga will "sell the rights collectively and distribute the combined income," currently about €800M ($1.02B) (BLOOMBERG, 10/9). INSIDE WORLD FOOTBALL's David Owen reported LFP President Javier Tebas explained that the rights would "revert to the league" in '16-17 and that the league would "start commercialising them 'when the law allows us to do so.'" Tebas said that a decree "would be ratified by the Spanish parliament, possibly as soon as next month and in any case" before June '15. Reading "between the lines, it sounds like new arrangements will be
structured in such a way that Real and Barcelona suffer little if any
reduction in the rights fees they currently earn" (INSIDE WORLD FOOTBALL, 10/9). DIARIO GOL reported the "proposed redistribution" of TV rights could "hit a snag" if it is confirmed that Movistar TV has acquired Barcelona's rights after "making a counteroffer to Mediapro's proposal to the club." An agreement between Movistar and Barcelona is reportedly "almost sealed and lacking only the official signature." Mediapro, "for its part, has not stood with its arms crossed, as it has tied up Real Madrid." The financial terms and duration of that deal "are currently unknown." The new distribution of TV rights is obligating "the two operators to negotiate if they want to continue broadcasting La Liga" starting in the '15-16 season (DIARIO GOL, 10/7).
SEVILLA PRESIDENT SPEAKS OUT: In Madrid, Espina & López reported La Liga side Sevilla President José Castro said, "We expect news soon and we expect it to be good. I do not know if it will balance the rights, but the current situation is not acceptable. If this is not fixed the competitiveness of La Liga will continue dropping. In England four to six teams fight for the title, here only two. ... It is not [Real Madrid President] Florentino Pérez who has to fix this problem, though he is an important part, it is the responsibility of La Liga and to go further, even politicians because this affects everyone" (AS, 10/9).
