Argentina confirms football broadcasting privatisation

Juan Fernandez Gonzalez
| 23 August 2016

The days of Argentina’s free-to-air (FTA) football programming are numbered, as both the Government and the football organisation intend to give the TV rights to a private broadcaster.

futbol argentinaArmando Pérez, president of the regulatory commission of the Asociación de Fútbol Argentino (AFA), confirmed that a new model will be introduced in a bid to drive more TV-related income for football clubs.

“As of January 2017 Fútbol Para Todos – the programme through which the Government has managed rights and guaranteed FTA access to the entire national competition – will disappear,” said Pérez to Argentina’s news bureau Telam. “A private company will be awarded the broadcasting rights through a formal bid.”

Although there is no official confirmation, Turner Broadcasting looks to be the closest to reaching a deal for Argentina’s football TV rights, which would be a key move for strengthening its position in the country’s TV market.