The Spanish top-flight, LaLiga has extended its broadcast agreement with the multinational pay-television service, Premier Sports in the United Kingdom and Ireland for three years, following the collapse of the league’s massive contract with the streaming platform, Fite last month.
The pay-television broadcaster will retain official rights to the league for the next three seasons, from 2022-23 to 2024-25, extending its coverage of Spanish club football to a total of six seasons.
Premier Sports will strive to broadcast all 380 LaLiga matches every season on its premium pay-television channels as well as LaLiga TV, which will remain part of the Premier Sports package.
LaLigaTV will continue to be accessible via Amazon Prime Video Channels and Premier Sports.
The broadcaster’s previous three-season deal, from 2019-20 to 2021-22, was scheduled to be the end of its LaLiga coverage, as the combat-focused streaming platform, Fite forwarded the highest bid for the rights from 2022-23 through a tender earlier this year.
Fite and LaLiga’s resulting three-season agreement is said to have crumbled after the two parties couldn’t consent to an appropriate payment schedule. As the deal fell through, LaLiga termed a solely direct-to-consumer offering in the UK and Ireland for the 2022-23 season, but after talks with Premier Sports resumed in May and an agreement was struck earlier this month between the league and its entrenched broadcaster.
Richard Sweeney, Chief Executive at Premier Sports, said, “We’re pleased to extend our relationship with LaLiga until 2025. Since 2019, as Premier Sports and LaLiga have worked hand-in-hand to actively promote Spanish football, we’ve come to appreciate the deep-seated passion that makes LaLiga the most popular foreign league on these shores.
“With our recent addition of rights to the Uefa Nations League and Euro 2024 Qualifiers, we continue to position Premier Sports as a go-to destination for football fans across the UK and Ireland.”
Melcior Soler, Audiovisual Director at LaLiga, commented, “These past three years have seen LaLiga reach British and Irish viewers via a unique distribution strategy forged in partnership with Premier Sports. We look forward to continuing to innovate in our offering to the UK and Ireland markets, allowing viewers everywhere to enjoy the best that Spanish football has to offer.”