CNMC Expands Review of Football Rights Bidding and Regional Conditions

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The National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC) has urged LaLiga to impose new limits once more. The commission is exploring the possibility of bidding for football audiovisual rights in Spain for a period of three seasons, a constraint previously ignored during the last round of bids.

Now the CNMC has proposed a bidding framework that would cover an open match in Division One, a match in Division Two, and all rights to the Second Division along with the promotion play-offs. The scope would also include broadcasts in hotels, restaurants, and cafes, in addition to delivering match summaries. The regulator stressed that the current plan to commercialize football rights must still satisfy legal requirements, and it called for the elimination of bids spanning four or five years in line with the Royal Decree that governs the process.

From LaLiga’s side, the CNMC emphasized objective criteria for assessing bids when lots are issued and urged removing the restriction that only pay-TV operators may participate in certain rights packages, broadening potential competition and ensuring fair access to different market players.

Not a new request

The CNMC’s push to limit LaLiga’s process to three-year contracts is not a fresh demand. It was raised in a report released last autumn that examined the competition for football broadcast rights and suggested adjusting contract durations to a maximum of three years. Ultimately, LaLiga decided to maintain longer contracts for five years in that instance.

Recently, CNMC president Cani Fernández stated publicly that there is an expectation for the Commission to be relieved of the duty to provide commentary on every tender for the export of football rights, noting that the current reporting practice is overly burdensome and not always helpful in guiding policy decisions.

Conditions in Asia and the Pacific

In tandem with the main report, the CNMC reviewed a separate assessment analyzing marketing rights for the First Division and the play-offs in several Asia-Pacific markets. The commission outlined guiding principles intended to preserve promotion ethics, maintain transparency, ensure competitive processes, and uphold non-discrimination in these international contexts. The document clarifies matters related to linear versus non-linear broadcasting and avoids drawing distinctions among different operators, aiming for a level playing field across regions.

Additionally, the agency calls for a clear reassessment of Mediaduccion’s role in handling marketing responsibilities and considers contracting durations to determine whether they remain competitively aligned with market conditions. The overarching aim is to align bidding rules with competitive dynamics while safeguarding consumer interests across markets and platforms, including those outside traditional broadcasting channels. (CNMC report, 2024)

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