Tebas: La Liga TV rights on hold

La Liga President Javier Tebas has delayed putting their international television rights out to tender because of the political crisis in Catalonia.

According to AS, the uncertainty in the region and what it could mean for Barcelona following an independence referendum on October 1, which was deemed illegal by the Spanish government, has forced the league to put off the bidding for the rights by at least two weeks.

“We have delayed the tender process that we often do around these dates to wait and see what happens in Spain,” explained Tebas at the World Football Summit in Madrid. “This is a problem and could greatly affect the value of our competitions. The process concerns the rights to broadcast La Liga matches in Europe and Asia countries such as India and Singapore.”

It is unclear what might happen with Barcelona and other Catalan clubs if independence was declared, but the value of the television rights would face a significant drop if, for example, there was no showpiece Clasico between Barcelona and Real Madrid.

“You may think Barcelona is 50 per cent of the competition, but it is not like that. I estimate it would be around 20 to 25 per cent,” added Tebas, who has been an outspoken campaigner against the separatist movement.

Barcelona, on the other hand, have backed the Catalans’ ‘right to decide’, but have stopped short of supporting separation from Spain, whilst stressing their desire to remain in La Liga.

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