€31.6m fine for Mediapro football piracy site
December 20, 2024
By Colin Mann

Roja Directa, an illegal sports content website, has been sentenced to pay damages amounting to €31.6 million to Grup Mediapro for piracy of football content owned by the group. Commercial Court No. 2 in A Coruña has set the compensation Puerto 80 and its administrator, Igor Seoane, are required to pay Grup Mediapro for the resulting damages caused by the broadcast of La Liga matches for which the associated intellectual property rights belonged to the audiovisual group during the 2014/15 season.
Previously, in 2022, the Supreme Court ruled that Puerto 80 Projects and its administrator, Igor Seoane, were responsible for the illicit activities carried out by the Roja Directa website, illegally distributing La Liga matches, and the vast economic benefits earned from this activity. Now, the Court of A Coruña has established compensation for the damages caused at €31.6 million, of which €15.8 million is jointly and severally liable to the company’s director, Igor Seoane. Compensation was calculated based on the economic consideration that Puerto 80 Projects should have paid to Grup Mediapro to have access to the signal. Almost 10 years after the legal proceedings got underway, Grup Mediapro has finally managed to demand closure of the website in Spain and to set compensation for the infringement of related intellectual property rights.
The Roja Directa website provided access in Spain to illegal content, thereby infringing intellectual property rights through links that allowed live viewing of Spanish league matches as well as other sports content broadcast on pay-per-view television. Although access was free for users, Puerto 80 Projects obtained millions of dollars in revenue through advertising and commissions for redirecting traffic to sportsbook websites. Judicial expert reports from 2022 revealed revenues in excess of €11 million in just one of the company’s accounts.
At the same time, the director and sole administrator of Puerto 80 Projects is facing criminal proceedings, brought by Grup Mediapro and La Liga, for the ongoing illegal activity of intellectual property rights’ violation via Roja Directa and for the profits obtained from said illegal activity.
The prosecutor for the case, which is currently is the oral hearing stage, is requesting a four-year prison term for Puerto 80’s administrator, while Grup Mediapro and La Liga are demanding a six-year term. Puerto 80 Projects and its administrator were required to have deposited a bond of €4 million to cover future liabilities given the “special economic significance” of the profits obtained and the damages caused, according to the prosecutor’s conclusions. Puerto 80 Projects continues its illegal activities outside Spain.