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Sogecable-Mediapro feud reaches new level
Spain - 29 August, 2007
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Sogecable's Audiovisual Sport (AVS) has claimed it is owed an additional EUR 200 million in his suit against Mediapro, with the sides seemingly nowhere close to ending their spat.
AVS, 80 percent owned by Sogecable, is asking that Mediapro end its broadcasting of Spanish football, claiming breach of contract. Mediapro, which helped form AVS with Sogecable, has its channel La Sexta broadcast three matches this past weekend, and Sogecable/AVS is claiming the rights were not Mediapro's to air, claiming piracy.
Sogecable/AVS already have filed a EUR 58 million lawsuit against Mediapro over nonpayment. This would make total target for the lawsuit of EUR 258 million … and counting. Sogecable has been withholding matches from Mediapro, though Mediapro claims it owes no money.
At root of the issue is this: Earlier in the year, Mediapro announced it had landed the rights to most of the top Spanish football clubs, buying them on a club-by-club basis. Sogecable/AVS said this was not legal, and used a 2006 contract with Mediapro as its basis for taking the rival entity to court.
The two formed AVS as a means to air football matches, and have a partnership. After Mediapro began buying club-by-club rights, Sogecable claimed it was owed EUR 58 million as part of the AVS deal. Mediapro said it did now owe Sogecable anything, and reacted by claiming it was owed EUR 43 million.
Later, there was an agreement that Sogecable would pull back to own 75 percent of AVS, and Mediapro would hold 25 percent.
Mediapro said it had 12 individual club rights starting with the 2008-2009 season, and a total of 39 for the 2009-2010 season. Barcelona signed, as did Real Madrid. That set off the furor.
Whether they have legal footing or not, Sogecable tried to use a 2006 contract as a way to stop Mediapro. According to the Sogecable interpretation of the contract, Sogecable/AVS have the rights to award how they want to be awarded. Whether it be pay, free-to-air or new media, Sogecable/AVS believe they are the distributor for Spanish La Liga and second division clubs.
Sogecable/AVS believes that this applies at least until the 2008-2009 season, and claimed it had a number of contracts with clubs that ran through the 2012-2013 season. Therefore, with Mediapro airing matches that, according to its rival, aren't yet in its domain, Sogecable/AVS is taking legal action.
Sogecable claimed, while filing its suit, that Mediapro could not buy rights on its own.
It also claims that it has not received proper payment from Mediapro for the rights to this season's matches. Mediapro does not believe in the Sogecable view of the contract, and feels the entity is retaliating for Mediapro taking the initiative of getting club rights.
Mediapro said there is a clause in the contract that does not prohibit competition. Mediapro claimed a breach of contract, said it would pull out of AVS and claimed it had the right to pursue clubs for future broadcast deals. Without getting specific, it claimed certain obligations of the contract were not fulfilled, so it would leave the pact.
Under the agreement, Sogecable is entitled to the lion's share of TV matches, with the majority running on pay TV. Mediapro has one match on free TV, but can exploit the remainder to other markets. In a sense, when the matches aired on La Sexta this past weekend, Mediapro sold the rights to its self to air, La Sexta being a Mediapro entity.
The enmity between the two sides has reached a point where Sogecable crews are are accused by Mediapro of barring the latter's technical teams from matches this past week. Mediapro has retaliated by changing match times, with the desired effect of having free matches air when pay matches are being televised.
Sogecable's pay services are projected to be off to a rough start because of uncertainty over how matches will be handled. Sogecable also has found that its stocks have taken a dip over fears of a drawn-out legal battle.
Since Mediapro also has overseas distribution rights, whatever matches Sogecable is trying to bar the company from has an international domino effect, with viewers in the U.K. and U.S. unable to see the likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona. That, in turn, could bring international pressure against Sogecable.
Mediapro also announced it would block Digital+, a Sogecable subsidiary, from showing highlights from the matches covered by Mediapro.
AVS, 80 percent owned by Sogecable, is asking that Mediapro end its broadcasting of Spanish football, claiming breach of contract. Mediapro, which helped form AVS with Sogecable, has its channel La Sexta broadcast three matches this past weekend, and Sogecable/AVS is claiming the rights were not Mediapro's to air, claiming piracy.
Sogecable/AVS already have filed a EUR 58 million lawsuit against Mediapro over nonpayment. This would make total target for the lawsuit of EUR 258 million … and counting. Sogecable has been withholding matches from Mediapro, though Mediapro claims it owes no money.
At root of the issue is this: Earlier in the year, Mediapro announced it had landed the rights to most of the top Spanish football clubs, buying them on a club-by-club basis. Sogecable/AVS said this was not legal, and used a 2006 contract with Mediapro as its basis for taking the rival entity to court.
The two formed AVS as a means to air football matches, and have a partnership. After Mediapro began buying club-by-club rights, Sogecable claimed it was owed EUR 58 million as part of the AVS deal. Mediapro said it did now owe Sogecable anything, and reacted by claiming it was owed EUR 43 million.
Later, there was an agreement that Sogecable would pull back to own 75 percent of AVS, and Mediapro would hold 25 percent.
Mediapro said it had 12 individual club rights starting with the 2008-2009 season, and a total of 39 for the 2009-2010 season. Barcelona signed, as did Real Madrid. That set off the furor.
Whether they have legal footing or not, Sogecable tried to use a 2006 contract as a way to stop Mediapro. According to the Sogecable interpretation of the contract, Sogecable/AVS have the rights to award how they want to be awarded. Whether it be pay, free-to-air or new media, Sogecable/AVS believe they are the distributor for Spanish La Liga and second division clubs.
Sogecable/AVS believes that this applies at least until the 2008-2009 season, and claimed it had a number of contracts with clubs that ran through the 2012-2013 season. Therefore, with Mediapro airing matches that, according to its rival, aren't yet in its domain, Sogecable/AVS is taking legal action.
Sogecable claimed, while filing its suit, that Mediapro could not buy rights on its own.
It also claims that it has not received proper payment from Mediapro for the rights to this season's matches. Mediapro does not believe in the Sogecable view of the contract, and feels the entity is retaliating for Mediapro taking the initiative of getting club rights.
Mediapro said there is a clause in the contract that does not prohibit competition. Mediapro claimed a breach of contract, said it would pull out of AVS and claimed it had the right to pursue clubs for future broadcast deals. Without getting specific, it claimed certain obligations of the contract were not fulfilled, so it would leave the pact.
Under the agreement, Sogecable is entitled to the lion's share of TV matches, with the majority running on pay TV. Mediapro has one match on free TV, but can exploit the remainder to other markets. In a sense, when the matches aired on La Sexta this past weekend, Mediapro sold the rights to its self to air, La Sexta being a Mediapro entity.
The enmity between the two sides has reached a point where Sogecable crews are are accused by Mediapro of barring the latter's technical teams from matches this past week. Mediapro has retaliated by changing match times, with the desired effect of having free matches air when pay matches are being televised.
Sogecable's pay services are projected to be off to a rough start because of uncertainty over how matches will be handled. Sogecable also has found that its stocks have taken a dip over fears of a drawn-out legal battle.
Since Mediapro also has overseas distribution rights, whatever matches Sogecable is trying to bar the company from has an international domino effect, with viewers in the U.K. and U.S. unable to see the likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona. That, in turn, could bring international pressure against Sogecable.
Mediapro also announced it would block Digital+, a Sogecable subsidiary, from showing highlights from the matches covered by Mediapro.
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