Mediapro slams LaLiga in harsh criticism : “It’s unheard of

Mediapro has launched a scathing attack against LaLiga following the Spanish football governing body’s decision to award its television production rights to Swiss company HBS. The Catalan media giant, which has been a key partner for LaLiga in recent years, has expressed outrage at what they describe as an “unheard of” decision that overlooks their superior technical capabilities and extensive experience in Spanish football broadcasting.

In Short

The controversial decision that sparked Mediapro’s fury

The tension between Mediapro and LaLiga escalated dramatically on April 14, 2025, when the Spanish football organization announced it would be terminating its long-standing relationship with the Catalan media company. This development represents a significant shift in the LaLiga switches audiovisual provider: farewell to Mediapro after years of partnership that had been instrumental in building the league’s global broadcasting presence.

According to Mediapro’s strongly-worded statement, they had submitted what they believed was the best technical and economic offer in response to LaLiga’s tender. Their indignation stems from LaLiga president Javier Tebas’ decision to award the contract to HBS, a Swiss company that Mediapro claims “does not have a single technical resource in Spain nor any experience in television production of a competition like LaLiga that spans an entire season.”

The Catalan media giant didn’t hold back in its criticism, suggesting that this decision could potentially “endanger the production of matches at the start of next season.” This claim hints at serious concerns about operational continuity as the transition to a new provider takes place with limited preparation time before the 2025/26 season kicks off.

Mediapro’s frustration appears to be further amplified by what they describe as a bidding process characterized by “secrecy” and “continuous changes and delays in deadlines.” These allegations raise questions about the transparency of LaLiga’s decision-making process in awarding such a significant contract worth millions of euros annually.

Technical capabilities at the heart of the dispute

At the core of Mediapro’s complaint lies what they perceive as a fundamental mismatch between requirements and capabilities. The media company argues that HBS lacks the technical infrastructure specifically demanded in LaLiga’s own tender specifications, including a production hub in Spain and the necessary technical and human resources to handle the comprehensive broadcasting needs of Spain’s top football divisions.

In their statement, Mediapro points out that HBS typically operates as consultants and executive producers who then subcontract the necessary technical resources – often from Mediapro itself, who has historically been responsible for the actual television production. This arrangement raises interesting questions about how the practical aspects of match broadcasts will be handled moving forward.

Mediapro did not hesitate to call out what they consider factual inaccuracies in LaLiga’s announcement. They claim the football body “grossly exaggerates the virtues of the awardees” and disseminates “manifestly false information about their credentials.” Specifically, Mediapro disputes attributions to HBS of productions including UEFA Champions League, Euro tournaments, and Africa Cup of Nations – claiming many of these were actually produced by Mediapro.

The company has taken pride in its role helping LaLiga shuts down pirate platform with over 200,000 users through sophisticated technical solutions. Mediapro emphasized that they even trained technicians from other platforms to implement these anti-piracy tools successfully, providing these services free of charge as a demonstration of their commitment to protecting the league’s content.

Innovation record and Spanish industry impact

Mediapro’s statement highlighted their impressive track record of technical innovation in football broadcasting. They enumerated various groundbreaking developments they’ve pioneered including remote production technologies, AI-powered highlight generation, augmented reality graphics, virtual stands and sound during the pandemic, and the first-ever live use of cinematic cameras – a technique later adopted by major international competitions.

The Catalan company positioned itself as a world leader in live football production, making LaLiga’s decision to favor a foreign provider particularly perplexing. “It is even more paradoxical that those who claim to want to defend Spanish industry hire a Swiss company when a Spanish company is the world leader in live football production,” Mediapro stated, touching on a sensitive point about national business interests.

The dispute has implications beyond just technical capabilities, as it relates to LaLiga denies indiscriminate IP address blocking amid controversy over streaming access and other digital distribution strategies that have been developed collaboratively between the two organizations over recent years.

Mediapro’s extensive global footprint includes operations in over 35 countries with a workforce exceeding 7,000 professionals. Their portfolio encompasses rights management for major competitions and production facilities handling over 12,000 sporting events annually. This established infrastructure has been central to LaLiga’s broadcasting quality and international reach over recent seasons.

The company has announced its intention to challenge the decision through legal channels, considering it “arbitrary and without objective basis.” This legal battle could potentially cast a shadow over the start of next season’s broadcasts as the complex transition to new production arrangements takes place under contentious circumstances. Football analysts and prediction platforms are already factoring this uncertainty into their assessment of how production quality might impact viewer engagement in the coming season.