Vodafone Spain's offer of all national and int'l football for just €6 ($6.69) a month for subscribing before the end of August -- from September at €18 ($20) -- is "the latest move in the ongoing battle for subscribers," according to David Del Valle of ADVANCED TELEVISION. All three of Spain's pay-TV operators have launched "low cost football offers." Telefónica’s Movistar+ is giving for free its Premium extra package -- with national and int'l football, series, cinema and other thematic channels -- to those "new and existing subscribers" to its convergent offer Fusion. Orange is giving La Liga coverage for free "on condition that the new customer is also a subscriber" to its €7 ($7.81) cinema and series package (ADVANCED TELEVISION, 8/11). RAPID TV NEWS' Juan Fernandez Gonzalez reported Vodafone Spain "has shocked the market by offering pay-TV football for a price up to three times lower than its competitors." The so-called football war "has now become a real battle, as both Orange and Movistar+’s previous offers were quite conservative." Both Orange and Movistar+ "were conservative compared to last year," launching a €20 ($22.3) option on top of the basic pay-TV or broadband subscription (RAPID TV NEWS, 8/11). The EFE reported brokerage firm XTB analyst Joaquín Robles said that the operators "are carrying out a strategy to capture customers." He added that "thanks to the fact that few channels carry football, the move to attract users is going well" (EFE, 8/11). In Madrid, Ignacio Del Castillo wrote that if demand from fans "does not increase enough to raise revenue -- which is hardly likely" -- operators will choose to raise prices to compensate (EXPANSIÓN, 8/10).
