Sogecable and Mediapro reach PPV deal
September 15, 2009
From David Del Valle in Madrid
The Spanish Competition authority's inquiry into pay-TV football rights has forced Mediapro, shareholder in La Sexta and holder of the majority of football TV rights in Spain, to reach a last-minute agreement with Sogecable, owner of Digital Plus and its main rival, to share pay-per-view football TV rights to avoid a possible fine.
With the deal, Sogecable will be able to offer the same ppv football matches of the Spanish League (La Liga) over the next three seasons as other pay TV operators like ONO, Imagenio, Jazztel, R, Telecable or Euskaltel which already signed a similar agreement with Sogecable.
The agreement comes soon after Spanish watchdog the CNC has launched an inquiry into Mediapro and its pay-TV football channel Gol TV over possible anti-trust practices by not reselling its football TV rights to third parties.