Sevilla, Villareal and four other clubs the new TV deal in Spanish La Liga
Nowhere else in the world is there a gap as wide as in Spain between the top two sides in La Liga and the rest of them and it seems like that the gap is about to widen.
Recently Real Madrid and Barcelona have agreed a deal with their broadcasters that will see the top two benefiting even more from the revenues generated but the agreement has angered other clubs as it would further widen the financial gap
between the big two and the rest of the league.
Sevilla, Villareal and four other top flight club have vehemently opposed the new agreement brokered by Los Blancos and Blaugranas with eleven other teams in the league about sharing the revenues generated from TV rights.
Espanyol, Real Zaragoza, Real Sociedad and Athletic Bilbao are also in opposition to this new deal arguing that it will maintain the top two’s duopoly in Spain and continue to hamper other cub’s progress in the league and limit the competition
in the Spanish top flight and reduce their appeal to TV audiences worldwide.
After recent negotiations between the six clubs it was unanimously agreed that they will file a complaint against the agreement that is set to come into effect from 2014 when the current contract expires.
Jose Maria Del Nido, the president of Sevilla FC believes that Spain needs a system that is similar to that used in other European Leagues like English Premier League, where the TV revenues are shared evenly between all the top flight clubs.
Del Nido said that under the current system it is impossible for the lesser clubs to win the league and unless a change is brought about the gap will only continue to get bigger and bigger.
Of the 20 top flight clubs in Spain only Malaga are yet to decide or announce if they are against or in favour of the new proposal.
The previous TV deals in Spain have been negotiated individually by the Spain’s big two and allowed them to bag a profit of more than 600 million Euros and ensure that they have a bigger income from TV revenues than any other club in world football let alone
Spanish Premiera Division.
As a result almost all the other teams in Spain are unable to keep up with the increasing wage demands and transfer budgets severely hampering their chances of competing in the league.
Only recently three clubs in Spain Malaga, Levante and Real Mallorca had been forced into administration and only Valencia apart from the big two have been able to win the La Liga in 02 and 04.
Barcelona set a Spanish record of 99 points when they won the league last year with Real finishing 3 points behind but the third place Valencia were a staggering 25 points adrift of Real.
The new deal is expected to earn the big two an additional 200 to 300 million Euros per annum, about 34% of the extra income, 11% increase for Valencia and Atletico Madrid and the rest shared by the 16 remaining clubs based on where they finish in the league
table.
An alternative proposal tabled by Villareal and Sevilla and four other clubs would mean than 40 % of the extra income will be shared equally by all the clubs while the other 60% will be distributed according to where teams finish in the league.
A study published by a consulting firm in Spain only recently claimed that Real Madrid and Barcelona earn 19 times more than the smallest club in Spain from TV deals – the biggest gap in any of the continent’s top Leagues.
In comparison the richest club in England which was Chelsea last season only earns just over a billion Euros a year which was just 1.7% more than their smallest rivals.
Tags: