Vodafone Spain: “Losing subs better than paying for La Liga”
February 26, 2018
From David Del Valle @ Mobile World Congress
At Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, the CEO of Vodafone Spain, Antonio Coimbra, has demanded a new “exploitation model” for TV football rights, as he believes the current high prices are no longer sustainable.
“In Spain, it is more profitable losing all subscribers than paying for the football rights,” he said. Coimbra explained that the annual costs of football rights amount to €200 million whereas the revenues from subscribers stay at €192 million: “If the current model does not change, the sum does not add up.”
According to him, subscribers should pay between €50 and €60 a month for football to cover all costs, but they are currently paying around €20.
Vodafone, like Telefónica and Orange, are not willing to pay more for football TV rights. Coimbra added that his company would accept that an OTT player could acquire the football content and become a distributor.