As the Argentine first division season reaches the halfway stage, behind the scenes, "a new struggle is threatening to engulf the sport," according to Dan Edwards of the BUENOS AIRES HERALD. The "juicy contract" to produce and broadcast football will imminently be up for grabs -- and "there are no shortages of suitors hoping to take the prize, with two competitors leading the way so far." The current production deal with La Corte, owned by Cristobal López and in charge of producing top-flight football since the beginning of Fútbol para Todos, "will be terminated in June 2016." At that point Turner, "the U.S. media giant with CNN among its many media outlets, is primed to seize the rights, taking over from the businessman synonymous with the previous government." An offer of around $1.65B would convince the Argentine FA "to switch production rights from the government, where President Mauricio Macri has formed close links with Turner executives." The second part of the North Americans’ masterplan is Telefe, "one of the biggest free-to-air television stations." Turner is close to sealing a $400M purchase of the channel, which would then have free reign to "pick and choose which games it transmits -- most logically Boca-River Superclásicos, other major derbies, and title deciders." The rest of the free channels "would have to negotiate with Telefe to pick up the crumbs of the Primera División, and decide which games are still left to transmit." The encroachment of the foreign media giant, however, "has not gone down well with the local monopoly." Heightened negotiations with Turner "coincided with the first negative front pages against the Macri administration from Clarín, whose Torneos partner is keen to return to the television right it held throughout the 1990s and first decade of the 21st century" (BUENOS AIRES HERALD, 4/4).
