Spanish consumer groups slam Mediapro’s TotalChannel

A range of Spanish consumer groups have filed a complaint with the country’s industry ministry over interruptions and poor service on Catalan broadcaster Mediapro’s TotalChannel OTT service, which provides coverage of Champions League football.

The Asociación de Internautas (AI), the Unión de Consumidores de Cataluña (UCC), the Asociación pro Derechos Civiles, Económicos y Sociales (ADECES), the Unión de Consumidores de la Comunidad Valenciana (UCCV) and the Unión de Consumidores de Andalucía (UCA) have slammed the service for interruptions, registration problems and general poor service, arguing that the ministry is ultimately responsible for requiring companies to provide services that have an impact on the public interest with adequate quality.

The associations say that TotalChannel has suffered from problems as a result of a lack of foresight on the part of Mediapro, which has failed to strike a deal to secure distribution of Champions League football on Telefónica’s Movistar platform, the largest pay TV provider in the country.

Mediapro’s BeIN Sports channel, which airs the Champions League matches, has attempted to assuage the situation by launching its own YouTube service for €9.99 a month to take some of the strain away from the TotalChannel platform.

BeIN Sport is carried by Vodafone, Orange and Asturias cable operator Telecable, but not so far by Telefónica.