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La Liga, Spanish soccer’s top flight, has secured a short-term UK media rights contract with commercial broadcaster ITV as the league continues to negotiate a long-term deal.
On the eve of the 2019/20 season, La Liga’s arrangement with ITV continues the partnership that began at the end of last campaign and sees the broadcaster air one live La Liga match for the first three rounds of fixtures in the UK and Ireland.
In what is clearly an attempt to buy some time in the search for a longer-term deal, the arrangement marks the latest marker in standoff between UK broadcasters and La Liga, which last month saw the organising body withdraw its regional rights tender after receiving ‘no satisfactory bids’ by a 25th July deadline.
The short-term deal sees the games broadcast via ITV4, while highlights from all of the first three rounds of matches will also be shown via both ITV and ITV4 channels.
La Liga had originally put to tender a six-package combination of over-the-top (OTT), free-to-air (FTA), and pay-TV options for the next three seasons.
The current situation arose after Eleven Sports, the multi-territory media company, cut short an exclusive three-year rights agreement with La Liga before the end of the 2018/19 season, having ousted pay-TV broadcaster Sky for the contract last summer.
La Liga agreed then agreed an interim deal that saw Eleven shared its rights with ITV and pay-TV channel Premier Sports for the remainder of the season. It is understood that all three were involved in negotiations for rights to the new season, though ITV is currently the only party to come away with an agreement, although all remain interested.
La Liga, Spanish soccer’s top flight, has secured a short-term UK media rights contract with commercial broadcaster ITV as the league continues to negotiate a long-term deal
La Liga, Spanish soccer’s top flight, has secured a short-term UK media rights contract with commercial broadcaster ITV as the league continues to negotiate a long-term deal.
On the eve of the 2019/20 season, La Liga’s arrangement with ITV continues the partnership that began at the end of last campaign and sees the broadcaster air one live La Liga match for the first three rounds of fixtures in the UK and Ireland.
In what is clearly an attempt to buy some time in the search for a longer-term deal, the arrangement marks the latest marker in standoff between UK broadcasters and La Liga, which last month saw the organising body withdraw its regional rights tender after receiving ‘no satisfactory bids’ by a 25th July deadline.
The short-term deal sees the games broadcast via ITV4, while highlights from all of the first three rounds of matches will also be shown via both ITV and ITV4 channels.
La Liga had originally put to tender a six-package combination of over-the-top (OTT), free-to-air (FTA), and pay-TV options for the next three seasons.
The current situation arose after Eleven Sports, the multi-territory media company, cut short an exclusive three-year rights agreement with La Liga before the end of the 2018/19 season, having ousted pay-TV broadcaster Sky for the contract last summer.
La Liga agreed then agreed an interim deal that saw Eleven shared its rights with ITV and pay-TV channel Premier Sports for the remainder of the season. It is understood that all three were involved in negotiations for rights to the new season, though ITV is currently the only party to come away with an agreement, although all remain interested.
