Spain/Finetwork Liga F: allocation of media rights to DAZN and Mediapro deemed illegal by the CNMC

The awarding process for the domestic and international media rights of Finetwork Liga F to the OTT platform DAZN and the Spanish audiovisual group Mediapro, for the 2022-2027 cycle, has been deemed illegal by the Spanish Competition Authority (CNMC), according to a letter from the body published by the daily El Español on 11/04/2023.

The Spanish professional women's football league (Liga Profesional de Fútbol Femenino, LPFF) had requested, on 23/08/2022, a report from the CNMC regarding the marketing conditions, for clubs, of the competition's audiovisual rights, according to the letter. Pending the completion of this report by the Competition Authority within a one-month period, the League was not allowed to launch the call for tenders for the media rights of Finetwork Liga F, as per Royal Decree-Law 5/2015. However, the LFPF started this process on 23/08/2022 and the rights were awarded to DAZN and Mediapro on 05/09/2022.

The CNMC ruled that this awarding was illegal on 27/09/2022 and consequently sent a request to the LPFF to cancel it, which did not however prevent DAZN and…