Jonathan Toro – [email protected]
After the pandemic severely affected the world sports entertainment scene, the Spanish Professional Football League (LFP), Led by Javier Tebas, managed to reach an agreement with Mediapro, Telefónica, Bein and Espn to reduce the bill for the broadcasting rights of the First and Second Division matches of last season by US $ 108 million, which represents a cut of 4.7% compared to the US $ 2,305 million that was expected to enter before the pandemic broke out.
The decision was made after competitions were suspended in the second quarter of last year, and there was a sharp drop in subscribers and the closure of bars where the sport was usually enjoyed.
The impact of the cut in the income of the clubs will be known in a few months, but the most affected will be Atlético de Madrid, Sevilla and the smallest, since they are the ones that depend more on audiovisual rights.
According to a statement issued by the League“The Government understood very well the economic problems that football could face if the competition was not finished, so it allowed the games to be resumed, although without an audience. If it is not concluded, up to a third of the income would have been lost and the situation would be very different, with the companies demanding discounts and compensation ”.
The agreed cut represents a first step in the open negotiations between the League and the owners of audiovisual rights to adjust the value to the reality of the pandemic. Unlike what happened in France with Mediapro, Thebes was more open to negotiate on further cuts.