Telefónica strikes football deal with Mediapro

Telefónica has struck a €2.4 billion deal with broadcaster Mediapro that will enable it to offer a full complement of Spanish La Liga football and also enable it to offer European Champions League football to its customers.

The deal means that Telefónica will be able to distribute European matches, currently shown on Mediapro’s BeIN Sports channel, via its pay TV service.

Telefónica’s Movistar TV service will also have access to BeIN Sports’ coverage of Spanish La Liga games, complementing its existing offer of Spanish football, for the next three seasons.

BeIN Sports broadcasts coverage of eight live La Liga games each match day, including one featuring Real Madrid or Barcelona.

In addition to securing a complete offering of football for Movistar, the deal gives BeIN Sports additional reach. The service has previously been available on the services of Vodafone, Orange and Telecable, which have aggressively pushed their ability to offer the channel as a key differentiator against Telefónica.

Mediapro secured rights to La Liga games in December, securing the key Lot 6 package for €1.9 billion, with Telefónica securing the more limited Lot 5 for €750 million. Mediapro had previously secured Champions League rights for its BeIN Sports service.