Vodafone Spain has written to communications regulator CNMC to request the suspension of the recent deal between Telefonica and Mediapro to broadcast Spain’s top-tier La Liga football league and the UEFA Champions League over the next few seasons, reports El Pais. On 12 January Telefonica agreed to pay Mediapro EUR 2.4 billion to add the BeIN Sport channel to its Movistar+ pay-TV service, including exclusive rights to Spain’s top-tier La Liga football league and domestic cup competition (Copa del Rey) over the next three seasons, plus the UEFA Champions League and Europa League over the next two seasons.
Vodafone has now asked the CNMC to declare the agreement invalid if it insists on the exclusive nature of the broadcasting rights. According to the operator, the deal infringes the conditions imposed on Telefonica following its takeover of Canal+. These included the obligation to offer 50 percent its 'premium' content to rivals in the form of wholesale packages to ensure the replicability of the offer.
