LaLiga President Javier Tebas has fought a long battle against piracy, but he is ready to take further action. Over the weekend, Tebas spoke at New Economic Forum about several things plaguing soccer in Spain. While Tebas defended the league against claims of racism, he turned the audience’s attention to the issue of piracy. This, according to Tebas, can be massive consequential for LaLiga and soccer in Spain as a whole.
Tebas said piracy is “the biggest challenge in the world of football and the sports industry in general.” The LaLiga President pointed the finger at Google. The search engine has allowed fans across the world to take advantage of people illegally streaming LaLiga games. Tebas added the problem in Spain is so bad, that he estimated 40% of viewership is watching LaLiga illegally.
“40% of the Spanish population is a pirate. We are going to file a complaint against Google in Spain, France, Brazil. Enough is enough.”
What this lawsuit may look like is unclear. Tebas previously stated he would reach out to Google to help limit the number of illegal websites that are available on the search engine’s platform. He also wanted to locate the source of illegal streams in collaboration with Google. Given that Tebas is here now talking about a lawsuit against Google, that plan did not go anywhere. Consequently, LaLiga is still suffering massively from piracy and illegal streaming of games.
The development of streaming and the related fees have made leagues dependent on global viewership. With illegal streaming, viewers do not have to pay subscription fees. This cycle hurts broadcasters in the short term. However, in the future, the broadcasting deals for LaLiga will be worth less as streaming partners see they are not maximizing their profit.
“If this piracy thing doesn’t change in two years, audiovisual rights will go down. Salaries may go down and some clubs may disappear,” Tebas said at the Forum. In Tebas’s eyes, the potential of lower rights fees could lead to lower-level clubs not receiving necessary funding. They would thus fold without proper incomes. In LaLiga, it is particularly troubling as Barcelona and Real Madrid have created such a large disparity in funding.
Google has been in the news recently for a separate lawsuit from FIFA. That case, focusing on defamation, stems from a similar circumstance as this piracy case with LaLiga. It is not Google itself that is illegally streaming games for audiences. Rather, pirates use the search engine to gain viewers and take them away from legal broadcasters. Google won that lawsuit regarding defamation in a Swiss court, but Tebas plans to take this case to different countries to answer for various cases of piracy.
In a perfect world for Tebas, he would have Google mandate more control on piracy and recognize that it is a real problem. In fairness to Tebas, many clubs in LaLiga and the Segunda Division depend on the finances that come in the broadcast deals. Losing those because their value is lower could be damaging for soccer as a whole in Spain.
PHOTOS: IMAGO
