La Liga club Real Madrid will kick off Sunday's match against Club Atlético Osasuna at noon local time as club President Florentino Perez "bids to smash the global dominance of the Premier League," according to Antony Kastrinakis of the London SUN. The afternoon start will mark "the earliest game ever" at Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. The telecast will air in primetime locally in both Tokyo and Beijing "instead of the normal 2am-4am starts." The EPL earns $2.3B (all figures U.S.) in revenue "from overseas TV rights over three years," while La Liga reportedly earns $174.9M a year, "about a quarter of the Premier League's earnings." Far East TV companies "never splash vast sums for Spanish football because matches are played at the dead of night." Kastrinakis wrote the move is a "massive headache" for EPL CEO Richard Scudamore as Perez "has never hidden his ambition to install La Liga at the top of the TV money-tree at the English game's expense" (London SUN, 10/31). Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho has "thrown his support behind the idea, speaking in glowing terms of the practical nature of the early starts for those with families." Mourinho said, "From my experience in England, it was positive to play at noon. You finish at 2pm, got home and have a day with the family" (London DAILY MAIL, 10/31).
