Barcelona President Speaks Out In Favor Of Selling La Liga Television Rights Collectively

Spain’s top-flight clubs "are close to securing an agreement to sell their TV rights collectively" from the start of the '16-17 season in an attempt to mirror the success of the Premier League and prevent another decade of dominance by Real Madrid and Barcelona, according to Rory Smith of the LONDON TIMES. Between '05-13 Real and Barcelona "won every title and signed a raft of the world’s best players." In no small part, that disparity "was down to La Liga’s clubs selling their broadcast rights on an individual basis." Real and Barcelona earn about £120M ($202M) each per season, "more than twice as much as their nearest challengers, Atletico." Barcelona President Josep Maria Bartomeu said that he "expects Spain to adopt a Premier League-style model." Bartomeu insists that Barcelona has led the way in the campaign "to sell the rights collectively," even if it would not benefit it in the short term. Bartomeu: "It has been our objective for a long time to convince all of the clubs in La Liga to sell the rights as a competition. Not all of them have been helpful" (LONDON TIMES, 8/4).