Spanish Pay-TV Broadcasters To Ask Mediapro To Lower Cost Of Champions League Rights

Spain's top pay-TV broadcasters "will try to negotiate a drop in the cost of Champions League rights with rights holder Mediapro," according to Antonio Lorenzo of EL ECONOMISTA. Sources said, "Telefónica, Orange and Vodafone have learned their lesson in recent years, and going forward, will look to avoid making the same errors." The problem "is directly related to the price of the rights." The sources added, "To profit from football, we would have to charge customers more than €50 ($58) per month, which would be absolutely unviable." The broadcasters' concerns about including the Champions League in their respective packages will "grow next year, when they will sit with Mediapro to negotiate the rights for the next editions of the Champions League." This summer, Mediapro paid €1.1B ($1.3B) for the rights to the '18-19, '19-20 and '20-21 Champions League (EL ECONOMISTA, 11/6).