Tebas announces that LaLiga will be broadcast for free in China and upsets fans

​LaLiga president Javier Tebas announced on September 11 a strategic broadcasting agreement with China Media Group (CMG) so that LaLiga can be seen free-to-air in the eastern country. This alliance was formalized at an event in Beijing attended by the competition’s top manager and Shen Haixiong, vice minister of the Publicity Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and President and Editor-in-Chief of CMG.

This agreement marks an important achievement for all the work that LaLiga has done to expand its presence in the Chinese market. Now, Spanish football content will be offered to millions of fans throughout the Asian country and, best of all, they will be able to do so live through different platforms of the China Media Group. Tebas said on his social networks that this is a “very important milestone to expand our presence in China and bring our football to more than a billion people.”

Tebas unleashes the anger of Spanish fans

Although LaLiga as an organization benefits greatly from this agreement, Spanish fans are extremely upset, because in this country you have to pay high sums of money to be able to enjoy the domestic competition. Therefore, comments on social networks were not long in coming. Some of the most notable under Tebas’ post are: “You are stealing our football to sell it to the Chinese, scoundrels!”.

Other users wrote: “Translation: Tebas gives away Spanish football to the Chinese, when in Spain it has become a luxury good”, “In China it’s free and here you want us to stop pirating?? That Chinese channel will be on our IPTV lists and will be another option. Thanks Javier” or “We pay 120€ a month to watch Alavés Getafe at 12 noon so that the Chinese can watch it for free in Prime Time”. 

However, it must be made clear that this agreement is with a state-owned company, so the cost of the transmission will be covered by the taxes of the residents of the Asian country. Although this does not erase the discontent of many Spaniards, who want to enjoy sport soon without it being a big investment.