The Audiovisual Communication Law enters the final phase of its processing before being approved, predictably, in the plenary session of Congress next week. The last prior procedure was, this Thursday, the issuance of the mandatory opinion of the Committee on Transport, Mobility and Urban Agendain which the last modifications agreed by the groups were introduced before their final vote and presumable approval.
One of those changes has to do with the women’s soccer league. The new text will shield the open broadcast of at least one game per day of the highest competition of women’s football in Spain. In this way, their treatment will be equated to that which LaLiga has received since 1997.
That year, the Government of Jose Maria Aznar developed the Regulatory Law of Emissions and Retransmissions of Sports Competitions and Events. In it, it is collected the preferential right of free television to choose the match of each day of the First Division that is of greatest interest to broadcast it live.
The text also stated that they should be broadcast on open television (at that time there were La1, La2, Antena 3, Telecinco, regional and local) those events “that correspond to the national teams of Spain” and “that have special relevance and social transcendence”, leaving in the hands of the Council for Sports Broadcasts and Retransmissions the preparation of an annual catalog with the specific events protected by this regulation.
For years, LaLiga complained that the regulations undermined its business, by forcing it to offer the best match of each day openly. A protest that was growing as the economic gap between what the free and private televisions paid was growing.
In the year 2010, the General Law of Audiovisual Communication that is currently in force eliminates the right of open television to choose the party it broadcasts, although it maintains the shield that one match of each of the 38 days be seen through DTT.
The current listing
Additionally, the new legal text draws up a catalog of sporting events that may be required to be broadcast openly. The State Audiovisual Media Council It remains responsible for, among these events, choosing which ones it submits to this obligation every two years. The complete list, still in force today, in the following:
The official matches of the absolute Spanish soccer and basketball team
The semifinals and the final of the European Football Championship and the World Cup
The final of the football Champions League and the Copa del Rey football
One match per day of the First Division Professional Soccer League, designated by it at least 10 days in advance
Motorsport Grand Prix held in Spain
Motorcycling Grand Prix held in Spain.
Participation of the Absolute Spanish National Team in the European and World Handball Championships.
Cycling round to spain.
The Cycling World Championship.
Spanish participation in the tennis Davis Cup.
The participation of Spanish tennis players in the semifinals and the final of Roland Garros.
Spanish participation in the World and European Athletics and Swimming Championships.
Grand prizes or national and international competitions that are held in Spain and have a state or regional public subsidy.
Daughter of its time, the 2010 law approved by the government of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero does not even refer to male or female sports. In fact, at many points it is understood that it only refers to men’s competitions.
The list, in any case, has not remained stable throughout these 12 years. For example, it has been several years since the men’s Champions League final has not been broadcast openly, due to its exclusion from the list. In the new norm, it will no longer even be collected as an option.
Facing the renewal of the Audiovisual Law, the groups agreed to modify the list. The main changes had to do with the specification that the male and female versions of different competitions (European Championships, World Cups, Soccer Cup, Davis Cup and Federation…) received identical treatment in the articles. The Paralympic Games, both summer and winter, were also specifically included.
The particularity added in the last procedure, thanks to an amendment agreed by the PSOE, the PdeCAT and the PNV, is the specification that one match per day is included in this list of general interest “of the RFEF Women’s First Division”. Name, in any case, provisional until the procedures for the constitution of the new women’s professional league are completed.
opportune moment
Related news
Temporarily it is a very timely addition, given that in the coming weeks the new women’s league will proceed with the joint marketing of its television rights. Something that has not happened until now, given that it was not a professional competition and therefore each club had the power to sell their own rights individually.
The new regulations also come at a time of tension between the clubs. This year, many games could not be seen on television, either open or closed, due to their disagreements. Yes, the broadcast of one match per day was guaranteed in practice via telesportthanks to an agreement with the RFEF to which they joined Barcelona, Real Madrid, Athletic, Madrid CFF and Alavés. Starting next season, it will be mandatory by law.