TV rights: La Liga calls on broadcasters for “positive” match coverage

La Liga sets clear rules. The body, which manages professional football in Spain, wants the future winners of TV rights for the 2022-23 season to cover the championship in a way “positive“. “The winning broadcasters commit to ensuring that the production is carried out in a positive way, avoiding damage to the image of the competition, the clubs, the players, the coaches and the supporters“, can we read in the guidelines of the tender for the broadcasting of the matches unveiled on Wednesday.

“In case of violation of these principles, La Liga will inform the contractor so that he does not repeat his violation, being able to request the replacement of the commentators and reporters who have violated the aforementioned principles.“Teresa Ribeiro, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Representative for Media Freedom, expressed concern about these restrictions.”The new conditions unreasonably limit the freedom of the media and the public’s right to information“, Ribeiro said.

“This is unfortunately becoming a growing practice in the world of football“, she underlined. For his part, a source within La Liga explained to AFP that these restrictions were aimed at “avoid tabloid topics and questions about players’ families” during the retransmissions of the meetings and the post-match interviews.