Spain’s competition and markets commission is in the process of setting a new wholesale agreement for the wholesale management of Telefónica’s sports rights.
A decision is due before April when the current conditions, imposed after the 2015 purchase by Telefónica of Prisa’s Digital+ platform. At the time, the conditions put in place were regarded by many as harsh. It gave its rivals equal access to the exclusive content the platform wanted to set it apart.
In the case of pay channels, that its competitors can access their pay channels with premium content (premiere films, national and international sports competitions, etc.) and market them through their own pay-TV platforms. To calculate the payment of the competitors for access to the football and motor channels of the wholesale offer, Telefónica takes into account the so-called guaranteed minimum cost (CMG).
It seems unlikely that the CNMC would let Telefónica have complete exclusivity on its football rights. However, it could set the terms for any agreement with competitors Vodafone, Orange or DAZN.
Telefónica’s has Movistar with 4.1 million subscribers, followed by Vodafone with 1.3 million and Orange with 711,000.
