Spanish Football League (LFP) clubs on Friday signed a letter urging the Spanish government to approve of the promised "Real Decreto-Ley" which would "require the centralized sale of broadcast rights," according to Alfredo Matilla of AS. The letter "urgently asks the Government to pass the law regulating both the method of commercialization and the system of revenue distribution." The only club that did not sign the letter was Athletic Bilbao. The clubs "defended this new model because the previous deal generated 'football wars.'" They allege that "selling rights individually hurts commercialization outside Spain." LFP President Javier Tebas was told to "give the Government a period of two or three weeks to pass this law, or play could be stopped." A strike was "first proposed by second division side Recreativo Huelva President Pablo Comas in November." It was estimated that 30 of the 42 LFP clubs "have decided to go on strike in March if there is no resolution" (AS, 2/6). XINHUA reported "the current system" sees Real Madrid and Barcelona earn around 50% of all of the money given to clubs in their TV deals, with the "big two" earning "as much as seven or eight times more" than clubs such as Rayo Vallecano, Eibar and Levante and "around three and a half times more than sides such as Valencia" and reigning league champion Atlético. With the current TV contracts due to expire at the end of the current season and many clubs "surviving on shoestring budgets, which have forced them to rely on free transfers and loan deals for players, there is a need for the deal for the next three seasons to be completed before the end of the current campaign" (XINHUA, 2/7).
