Spanish La Liga TV rights up for grabs for 2015 onwards.

RED L4 0TH

Sky's rights for these run out at the end of the forthcoming season. I'd say they would fight very hard to keep them since they are promoting Sky Sports 5 as the 'home of European football'. BT Sports have the German, Italian and French rights plus the live CL rights from 2015. It would be a feather in the cap for BT if they ended up with rights to 4 of 5 of Europe's top leagues for UK & Irish viewers.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2724732/Sky-lose-rights-screen-Spanish-football-La-Liga-contract-set-expire.html

icdg

These are the ones BT want and will target. The Spanish league is the foreign league that gets the biggest UK viewership now (having bypassed Serie A a while back) and BT will definitely go for this.

lertsnim

I can see Sky Sports 5 no longer being the home of European football after this season.

BT aren't afraid to flex their financial muscle and I would be very surprised if they didn't make a strong bid for La Liga

AugustusMinimus

icdg wrote: »

These are the ones BT want and will target. The Spanish league is the foreign league that gets the biggest UK viewership now (having bypassed Serie A a while back) and BT will definitely go for this.

Any decent viewership is almost solely for Real Madrid and Barcelona games. Outside of this, viewership for Sky is actually quite poor.

In contrast, viewership for Serie A and Bundesliga might be lower, but is far more consistent from game to game.

A much as BT sport will target La Liga coverage, Sky will certainly target every league that BT currently have.

icdg

The problem with the Bundesliga is that many of the big games take place in the Saturday afternoon blackout period so BT can't cover them. It lessens the attractively compared to Serie A and La Liga which are just right with their Sunday night fixtures - La Liga often goes on in Irish pubs on a Sunday night as a follow on to Super Sunday.

Athletico Madrid did a good job of almost shaking off the "Scotland in the Sun" moniker for the Primera Division last year although I'm not sure it will be the same this year. I'm also not sure if Ligue 1 would continue to get a UK broadcaster if BT did pick up the Primera Division as it is the big European league with the least interest in the UK/Ireland.

lertsnim

Let's not forget some Barcelona and Real Madrid games were played in the blackout window too for the Asian audience.

Digifriendly

icdg wrote: »

The problem with the Bundesliga is that many of the big games take place in the Saturday afternoon blackout period so BT can't cover them. It lessens the attractively compared to Serie A and La Liga which are just right with their Sunday night fixtures - La Liga often goes on in Irish pubs on a Sunday night as a follow on to Super Sunday.

Athletico Madrid did a good job of almost shaking off the "Scotland in the Sun" moniker for the Primera Division last year although I'm not sure it will be the same this year. I'm also not sure if Ligue 1 would continue to get a UK broadcaster if BT did pick up the Primera Division as it is the big European league with the least interest in the UK/Ireland.

Excuse my ignorance but what is 'Scotland in the Sun' moniker?

icdg

Digifriendly wrote: »

Excuse my ignorance but what is 'Scotland in the Sun' moniker?

I don't like talking about the actual football here on the basis that this is a broadcasting forum and there is a Soccer forum where this can be discussed.

But to very, very, briefly break my own rule and only to clarify and on the basis that there is no further going down this road on this or any other thread, it is a nickname given to the Primera Division on the basis that it is only ever won by FC Barcelona or Real Madrid CF, in similar fashion to the way the Scottish top flight was, until recently, only ever won by Rangers FC or Celtic FC. A two-horse race, in other words. Of course, with Rangers now in the Scottish lower leagues, and the Spanish league almost won by Athletico de Madrid last year, it may not really be valid any more.

Digifriendly

icdg wrote: »

I don't like talking about the actual football here on the basis that this is a broadcasting forum and there is a Soccer forum where this can be discussed.

But to very, very, briefly break my own rule and only to clarify and on the basis that there is no further going down this road on this or any other thread, it is a nickname given to the Primera Division on the basis that it is only ever won by FC Barcelona or Real Madrid CF, in similar fashion to the way the Scottish top flight was, until recently, only ever won by Rangers FC or Celtic FC. A two-horse race, in other words. Of course, with Rangers now in the Scottish lower leagues, and the Spanish league almost won by Athletico de Madrid last year, it may not really be valid any more.

Many thanks for that very clear explanation. BTW I think Athletico Madrid did win La Liga.

icdg

So they did. I had it my head Real pipped them at the end but may have been the Champions League final I was recollecting. Anyway next post should mention TV.....