There are "once again" rumors of Al Jazeera "entering the Spanish TV scene," according to Juan Fernandez Gonzalez of RAPID TV NEWS. After being beaten by Telefónica in the Canal+ bid, the Qatar group "may be planning to launch a free-to-air (FTA) channel" and purchase broadcasting rights to La Liga for '15. Al Jazeera is "interested in the upcoming DTT bid" for five "new licences national FTA signals." The public process, which is expected to "take place within the first half of the year, will open up four new HD signals and one SD." Launching a channel in Spain is "being seen by some as the perfect testing ground for a Spanish-language Al Jazeera network targeting Hispanic and Latin audiences worldwide" (RAPID TV NEWS, 1/5). VOZ POPULI's Rubén Arranz reported the Spanish audiovisual sector "is waiting on the moves Qatari TV giant Al Jazeera will make in the coming months." Al Jazeera's possible arrival "demands respect, as its economic power is enormous and its administrators have as much of a chance to win the rights as any competitor due to their best weapon: the petrodollars from the emirate." Sources "with knowledge of the sector said that Al Jazeera began efforts to move into Spain and Latin America more than a decade ago, but different political, economic and logistic issues have impeded it until now" (VOZ POPULI, 1/3).
