Orange Espana, the Spanish arm of the international telecoms operator, will continue to offer top-level live soccer to its pay-television subscribers in the 2021-22 season after extending its content-sharing deal with telecoms giant Telefonica.
The two parties had been in negotiations to prolong the relationship, and a deal was announced yesterday, covering the Movistar Plus channels, which show matches from the domestic LaLiga and European club competitions, reported to be worth €300 million.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Orange has said it will continue to show nine of the 10 fixtures from each LaLiga matchday, all 11 games from each round of the second-tier Segunda Division, and action from the Uefa Champions League, Europa League, and new Europa Conference League.
The arrangement has been in place for the last few years, and Orange Espana’s chief executive Jean-François Fallacher, said the deal is worth a “similar" amount to last season.
Under rules intended to protect competition in the Spanish media market, Telefonica is obliged to share 50 per cent of its premium content, including sports and movie channels, with rival telecoms and over-the-top services.
See Also:
Orange has been especially keen to renew this rights deal in recent years, after rival Vodafone Espana dropped out of offering the same content at the end of 2018 after deciding the cost was prohibitive.
How well do you really know your competitors?
Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.
Thank you!
Your download email will arrive shortly
Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample
We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form
By GlobalDataOrange, as part of a soccer-focused discount, has now said it will be offering a €25-per-month discount – from 1 August – to subscribers who sign up to any of the service’s plans which involve soccer.
Telefonica holds extensive rights to both LaLiga and the Uefa club competitions, until the end of the 2021-22 and 2023-24 seasons respectively.
Telefonica, according to its own data, currently has over 8 million Spanish pay-TV subscribers, while media reports have said that Orange’s TV customer base stands at 725,000 subscribers.
In February this year, Orange called for a revision of the pricing for carrying channels that offer premium soccer, claiming that it is based on the wrong formula.
It called on the CNMC, the Spanish competition regulator, to review the conditions for carriage of the sport.
Fallacher said at that point: “I cannot deny that [the prices] are expensive, as in other countries. They are paid for based on pay-television subscribers and should be done based on those who have football.”
