Telefonica lands football monopoly

SPANISH broadband and telecommunications provider Telefonica has snapped up the rights to broadcast UEFA Champions League and Europa League football from rival Mediapro.

The firm will fork out €1.08 billion for the 2018-2021 period, paying €360 million for each of the next three seasons, it said in a statement.

It comes after its recent acquisition of La Liga football from 2019-2022, with the multinational now holding a monopoly on pay-per-view football rights in the Spanish domestic market.

The agreement includes shared advertising rights for a set of new Movistar-branded channels to be launched in the coming weeks.

Telefonica Spain’s president, Emilio Gayo, said: “The award of the main lots of the rights of La Liga last Monday cements Telefonica’s commitment to television with our customers’ most-watched content, now completed with the Champions and the Europa League.”