La Liga announced on Wednesday that it agreed to a domestic TV deal worth a minimum €2.65B ($2.9B) for the next three seasons, according to the AFP. Telefónica-owned Movistar will have "first choice of one match from each round of fixtures" for €250M ($274M) a season. Meanwhile, Mediapro has the rights to eight other La Liga games each weekend for €633M ($693M) a season. Moreover, the deal is "set to rise with eight other available packages including Copa del Rey games, highlights and one La Liga match per round of fixtures" to be shown on free-to-air TV still to be agreed. The figures are "well short" of the £5.1B ($7.7B), three-year deal agreed by the Premier League for domestic TV rights in February. However, it represents a "significant increase" in La Liga's income as it seeks to "close the gap on the financially dominant Premier League" thanks in part to a law introduced in April which forces the clubs to bargain such deals collectively. Including int'l rights deals struck in the summer, La Liga's overall TV revenue has risen from €800M ($876M) a season under the old system to nearly €1.5B ($1.64B) a season (AFP, 12/2). In Madrid, Juan Jiménez reported Spanish Football League (LFP) President Javier Tebas addressed the deal in a Q&A. Of whether this is the biggest "accomplishment of his tenure as LFP president," Tebas said, "No. The biggest has been the Real Decreto for the centralized sale of broadcast rights that was possible thanks to the sensibility of the Government. ... This is manna for Spanish football." When asked whether this is the "fair price" for Spanish football, Tebas said, "Yes, I believe this is the price the competition is worth. It has to be pointed out that in five months we have doubled the value of La Liga. In the '14-15 season the clubs earned €830 million, and in '15-16 they earn €1.5 billion. And later, €1.55 billion ($1.7B) in '16-17 and €1.65B ($1.8B) in '17-18." Of whether he expected "these sums," Tebas answered, "There is always uncertainty with the offers, but the effort of La Liga during these months has been enormous to reach this" (AS, 12/3).
