La Liga have made a huge decision regarding the future broadcasting rights. The league calls the deal “strategic” and a “very important milestone”.
Chinese TV Welcomes the Return of La Liga Broadcasting Rights to Its 1.4 Billion Population
Spanish Fans Betrayed
Javier Tebas has announced a deal with China Media Group which will allow the league to be shown in China for free. Posting both in Spanish and Chinese on X, the La Liga president shared a photo with Shen Haixiong, “Vice President of Propaganda of China”. This has left many fans based in Spain feeling ignored as they continue to pay up to €130 (£109) per month to stream all La Liga football.
The deal, which will cover at least the 2024-25 season, sees two live fixtures broadcast per match day by channels owned by CGM. This marks a return for Spanish football on Chinese TV after a two-year hiatus.
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Back on the Iberian peninsula, fans have taken to social media to voice their frustrations over the deal. The general consensus would suggest that these fans feel like other countries getting free to air La Liga matches isn’t fair on them. The companies that broadcast these fixtures have increased their prices in recent years but continue to share the games amongst themselves. This means that if you wanted to watch every match on a given weekend, you would be forking out around €130 monthly across all broadcasters.
Javier Tebas Continues to Damage His Popularity
Whilst it’s true that subscription fees have gone up, Spanish TV viewers might want to do a little more research into what is available to them for free this season. Free-to-air channel GOL TV will carry on showing one game per match day and regionalised channels will also be showing selected fixtures involving teams from their area.
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So perhaps it’s not the ‘what’ of the deal that is angering Spaniards, but the concept of it. Tebas is not a popular figure among the Spanish population as the face of a corporation that has taken a clear steer in the last decade towards making itself more marketable worldwide. La Liga’s official television channel operates entirely in English and its Instagram page posts more frequently in English than it does in Spanish. It’s therefore understandable why those from Spain may feel like they’re no longer their own league’s target market.
In line with the rest of Europe’s leagues, La Liga have been forced into finding alternative ways to sell their product. As the Premier League continues to dominate the global viewing figures, it is of no surprise that Tebas is travelling far and wide to bring in some extra cash.
