Disney+ will stream one La Liga game per week in the UK and Ireland as a part of a three-year broadcasting deal.
The Athletic reported on Wednesday that Disney+ was set to present one Spanish top-flight fixture per week on Saturday evenings in the UK and Ireland, and La Liga and Disney confirmed the information on Thursday.
The affirmation comes eight days earlier than the 2025-26 season begins, and the primary fixture broadcast by Disney+ shall be Valencia at residence to Real Sociedad on Saturday August 16. This shall be adopted by La Liga champions Barcelona’s journey to Levante on August 23, and Real Madrid’s go to to Real Mallorca on August 30.
The deal will run till the tip of the 2027-28 marketing campaign. Production and match commentary shall be offered by Disney-owned ESPN, which broadcasts the Spanish top-flight in the United States. Former Real Madrid and Liverpool participant Steve McManaman will lead its staff of pundits whereas Ian Darke and Rob Palmer will function commentators.
Pay-per-view channel Premier Sports will proceed as the primary broadcaster of La Liga in the UK and Ireland — so will present Marcus Rashford’s potential debut for Barcelona at Real Mallorca earlier on Saturday 16, in addition to Trent Alexander-Arnold’s first La Liga outing for Real Madrid in opposition to Osasuna the next Tuesday.
La Liga mentioned clips would even be made out there throughout a number of platforms, together with Gary Lineker’s manufacturing firm Goalhanger.
La Liga’s deal with Disney is analogous to one the competitors had with ITV, whereby the channel confirmed 10 of the highest-profile Spanish top-flight matches per season from 2022 till final time period.
Dublin-headquartered Premier Sports has the rights for the opposite 300-plus La Liga video games over the season.
In May, Disney+ announced it would show the Women’s Champions League from subsequent season in a five-year deal till 2029-30.
The precise make-up of La Liga’s protection on different platforms — in the UK and in many different locations all over the world together with Australia, Asia, Africa and Europe — stays unclear.
This is as a result of the La Liga TV International ‘world feed’ on which broadcast companions together with Premier Sports, DAZN and Supersport relied, beforehand produced by Catalan firm Mediapro, now not exists.
(Gokhan Taner/Middle East Images/AFP through Getty Images)
Barcelona-based Mediapro misplaced the rights earlier this yr to produce this content material, which included the dwell studio build-up, half-time and post-match protection, pre-game interviews with gamers and managers and journal exhibits together with VIVA La Liga.
In April, La Liga introduced Swiss agency HBS (Host Broadcasting Services) and Spain’s TSA (Telefonica Servicios Audiovisuales) as their new broadcast associate, whereas saying neither firm would take over the ‘content generation’ a part of the rights.
Broadcasters which acquired this content material to be used in their very own protection of video games as a part of their offers with La Liga haven’t but been knowledgeable what type it would take for 2025-26.
At the tip of final season, round 180 Mediapro employees together with presenters, pundits, commentators, technicians and producers at La Liga TV International misplaced their jobs below the Spanish authorities’s ERTE (momentary employment regulation) proceedings, with a authorized battle ongoing over compensation due to the employees.
Since 2021, ESPN has offered English and Spanish protection of La Liga in the U.S., in a deal which runs via to 2028-29. Hosts, commentators and pundits in that protection together with Dan Thomas, Kay Murray, Ian Darke, Stewart Robson, Rob Palmer, Luis Garcia and McManaman.
Analysis: La Liga trying to grow to be field workplace once more
By Tomas Hill Lopez-Menchero
It has been a wierd few years for La Liga’s UK TV rights, usually leaving viewers uncertain as to how they’ll watch Spanish video games.
Sky Sports confirmed La Liga for greater than 20 years earlier than dropping the rights in 2018 to Eleven Sports, a web-based platform based by former Leeds United proprietor Andrea Radrizzani. But when Eleven Sports bumped into difficulties halfway via its first season displaying the competitors, La Liga then signed one other deal with Premier Sports in 2019.
There was additional confusion when Premier Sports was bought to Swedish firm Viaplay in 2022, earlier than Viaplay itself introduced it could be pulling out of the UK after struggling heavy losses (Premier Sports formally took over from Viaplay once more final yr).
Disney already has sturdy ties with La Liga — it owns ESPN, which has proven Spanish matches in the United States since 2021. Hosting a game a week on its Disney+ platform will give La Liga extra visibility than on Premier Sports — in 2022, Disney+ was estimated to have 7.5million subscribers in the UK by analysis agency Omdia — but it surely stays to be seen what occurs with La Liga TV given the issues with Mediapro behind the scenes.
When the one game-a-week deal with ITV was introduced in 2023, media rights consultants advised The Athletic La Liga ought to prioritise signing with a serious broadcaster to regain visibility in the UK.
“You forget what you don’t see, and people (in the UK) have learnt to live without La Liga,” mentioned Pierre Maes, a number one advisor and creator on sports activities media rights.
With stars resembling Alexander-Arnold, Bellingham and Rashford all taking part in in El Clasico, the hope shall be a deal with such an influential firm makes La Liga field workplace as soon as extra.
(Top picture: Florencia Tan Jun/Getty Images))