At present, only subscribers to pay TV operators Movistar and Orange can watch all the football games of LaLiga Santander and the second division of Spain (Liga SmartBank).
However, this reality would be about to change radically since LaLiga, with the financial support of the CVC Capital Partners fund, would be about to announce a historic change in the televising of the championship that will no longer have the presence of the former Barcelona player, Lionel Messi.
As published The confidential, the games will be available only through its own streaming service that “would propose a ‘Netflix of football’ in Spain.”
According to the Spanish media, the idea was born from surveys carried out with users of Euskaltel, MásMóvil and Vodafone. According to that information, 35 percent of Vodafone customers would pay for soccer games if they were accessible, and half would seriously think about it.
“It seems clear that there are many people who want to see the games but cannot do so because of the contracts that LaLiga has so far with Movistar and Orange to broadcast as part of their offers,” says El Confidencial.
According to what has transpired, the intention would be to create an Over-The-Top platform (known as OTT) that would be something similar to what Netflix does with its contents of series, documentaries and films. Or as Eurosport and DAZN carry out in sports.
Currently, to be able to watch LaLiga de España games, Movistar users must pay an average of 129 euros per month, since it is also necessary to have a telephone and internet contract with the operator.
The objective of the company that has the rights to soccer in Spain is to make the service more economical.
There is no official data, but it has transpired that it would like to go towards a scheme similar to that of Amazon Prime with France’s Ligue 1, which would allow the games to be seen for an average of 13 euros per month.
In DAZN, for example, they charge 9.9 euros to be able to watch the UK Premier League games. In addition, the service allows access to the Euroleague basketball matches and the Motorcycle World Championship
There are two problems. The first: there would be no time for it to apply from next season (2022/23), since in October the televisions are auctioned and LaLiga would not get to prepare the entire package. It would be for the 2023/24 season.
On the other hand, there is the issue of Real Madrid, which has always spoken out against an agreement of this type because it hurts them economically.
That could lead to a lawsuit that would become another major hurdle.
