CNMC Urges Women’s Football League to Comply with Broadcasting Rights Regulations
The CNMC demands the LPFF conform its women’s football broadcast rights sales to legal standards, emphasizing transparency and fair competition amid DAZN’s exclusive deal.
- • The CNMC requires the LPFF to comply with Real Decreto-ley 5/2015 in broadcasting rights commercialization.
- • Four Primera División women's matches will be broadcast openly in Spain and Andorra from the 2025/26 season.
- • DAZN holds exclusive broadcasting rights, acquired in 2022.
- • The CNMC stresses transparency, fairness, and competition in the rights bidding process.
Key details
The National Commission on Markets and Competition (CNMC) has called on the Liga Profesional de Fútbol Femenino (LPFF) to align its commercialization of women's football audiovisual rights with current Spanish legislation. This follows the LPFF’s plan to broadcast four matches from the Primera División openly in Spain and Andorra starting in the 2025/26 season, under an agreement with DAZN, which holds exclusive broadcasting rights since 2022.
The CNMC's recent report emphasizes that the LPFF must strictly adhere to the powers detailed in Real Decreto-ley 5/2015, ensuring that the commercialization offers reflect the legal status of rights as a producer. The LPFF is cautioned against claiming ownership of rights it does not possess or implying unrestricted control over unregulated broadcasting rights.
Additionally, the regulator insists that obligations imposed on the winning bidder be limited to those strictly necessary for commercialization, avoiding disproportionate demands. Transparency and competition in the bidding process are key, with warnings against bundling strategies that could concentrate rights in a single bidder. Currently, the commercialization depends on a prior sale involving multiple rights packages.
This regulatory scrutiny signals the CNMC’s commitment to ensuring a fair, competitive, and legally compliant process in broadcasting the rapidly growing women's football sector in Spain.
This article was translated and synthesized from Spanish sources, providing English-speaking readers with local perspectives.
