Telefonica Secures Spanish Football League Rights, Bolstering Sports Broadcasting Dominance

Telefonica SA TEF bagged broadcasting rights for Spain’s premier football league matches, agreeing to a deal worth $1.4 billion (1.3 billion euros). 

Starting with the 2024-2025 season, the Spanish carrier will broadcast five games per match-day across three seasons, beginning on Jan. 20, 2025. 

The payment structure includes 250 million euros for the first season and 520 million euros for each following season, equivalent to what the company paid in a previous tender.

Telefonica has integrated football into its business strategy in Spain, utilizing expensive pay-TV packages to attract premium users who are less likely to change carriers over cost, Bloomberg reports.

Previously, the company had to resell broadcast rights to rivals at regulated prices. This requirement ceased on May 1, leading to Telefonica securing exclusive Spanish broadcasting rights for the UEFA Champions League in August. 

Despite declining profits and sales in Spain’s competitive market, the company has seen a shift in recent years and aims to stabilize Spanish earnings in the second half of 2023.

Last December, Telefonica shared plans to eliminate about 5,100 jobs by 2026 as part of a cost-reduction strategy and to align its workforce with current market demands. With approximately 21,000 employees in Spain and over 103,000 globally, the company’s decision stems from productivity and organizational needs, particularly as automation and the shift from copper to fiber optic networks reduce labor requirements.

Price Action: TEF shares are trading higher by 0.74% at $4.11 on the last check Friday.

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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

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