Though TV rights disputes have not been settled, Spanish clubs have agreed to start the 2012-13 season this weekend.
An emergency meeting Tuesday between disgruntled clubs and theprofessional soccer league (LFP) to discuss the issue didn’t resolve differences, but sufficient progress was made with the presence of Miguel Cardenal, the Secretary of State forsport, to ensure the season kicks off as scheduled.
Thirteen first division teams are concerned about an impasse between broadcasters Canal+ and Mediapro regarding TV rights ownership. Theclubs say this has created “a situation of serious legal insecurity” and had threatened to postpone the season’s start. The broadcasters are also behind in their payments to some clubs.
Unlike their counterparts in England and Germany, where revenues from TV rights are shared amongst the clubs, Spanish league clubs do not bargain collectively with broadcasters. Barcelona and RealMadrid dominate a process that extends as far as scheduling kickoff times to generate maximum viewership to the benefit of some teams. The 13 teams want LFP to institute a “transparent and regulated”system for fixing kickoff times and adopt some method of revenue sharing.