Mediaset nets Spanish Euro 2016 FTA broadcasting rights Editor
| 20 May 2016
In what will come as a huge relief to a football-mad nation, Mediaset España is to show in Spain the 23 matches of the UEFA Euro 2016 football tournament on a free-to-air (FTA) basis.
mediaset 20 May 2016Spain is the defending champion of the Euros and is aiming to win it for the third consecutive time. But with the big kick-off only weeks away, CAA Eleven, the marketing agency employed by European football governing body UEFA to manage commercial rights of national team competitions, had still to find a rights holder in the continent’s leading football nation. This seems unthinkable for a nation whose club teams have had a vice-like grip on the two European competitions — the Champions League and Europa League — for the last three years.
Not surprisingly those close to the deal flow have reported that the main sticking point in finding a rights holder has been money. Spanish broadcasters were reportedly very reluctant to pay the €70 million that the governing body is said to have valued Euro 2016.
Only two weeks ago, reports in the Spanish press suggested that the pay-TV provider had stepped down from the negotiation after bidding €45 million. However, Mediaset has confirmed that it has indeed come to an agreement with CAA Eleven and will broadcast 23 matches on its free TV channel. The package will include all the matches Spain's national team will play, opening match and the final phase of tournament.
Commenting on the deal, Paolo Vasile, Mediaset España CEO, said: “It is great news to have reached agreement with UEFA to offer the main matches of Euro 2016 free and open to all Spaniards through our television channels and the Internet, keeping unchanged our business profitability criteria. We will [apply] all our human and technical potential in creating an unforgettable event with such emotion that unites the whole country again.”
الرئيسية 
