MADRID, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Real Madrid have agreed a €1.1 billion deal with Catalan production company Mediapro for the rights to televise their matches, the nine-times European champions said on Monday.
The club said that the agreement, which had been approved by the board, would run to the end of the 2012/13 season and was the biggest of its kind by a soccer club.
'With this deal, Real Madrid have guaranteed they will earn
over €1,100 million for the granting of their audiovisual
rights over the next seven seasons, including the present one,'
Real said in a statement on their website.
'This agreement is a landmark in the history of this
institution as it constitutes the most important audiovisual
contract for any sports club in the world,' they said.
Real's television rights are currently owned by Sogecable
, through Audiovisual Sport, who also hold the rights
for most of the Primera Liga and second division clubs.
The present agreement, which runs until 2008, is reported to
be worth around €55 million a year, but the new deal will
see Real almost triple that figure and earn over €157 million
each season.
Publicly-run regional television station Telemadrid also bid
for the rights.
Mediapro, an affiliate of WPP group, signed a similar deal
with Real's arch rivals Barcelona several months ago which was
reported to be worth around €1,000 million.
The company then reached an agreement with Sogecable to
exploit the rights on their pay-TV platform.
