Canadian Soccer Business launches legal action against media partner Mediapro

Canadian Soccer Business has launched legal action against Mediapro, its media partner, over breach of contract in a move that will have a major ripple effect on the sport in Canada.

Essentially the move means CSB has taken back the broadcast rights to all its properties and is looking for new broadcast/media partners.

CSB, whose ownership group and board includes the Canadian Premier League owners, looks after marketing and broadcast rights for both the Canadian Premier League and Canada Soccer.

Mediapro is a Barcelona-based multimedia communications group. Mediapro Canada owns OneSoccer, the streaming service that airs both CPL and Canadian national team games.

The CSB move leaves OneSoccer without its core Canadian content.

CSB alleges Mediapro "failed to meet significant contractual obligations, including defaulting on the majority of its rights fees due for 2023 and failure to secure broader audiences for Canada’s national teams, the Canadian Championship and the Canadian Premier League."

"Our decision to pursue legal action was not one we took lightly, but we felt it was necessary to protect the tremendous investments we have made to build the game in Canada," CSB said in a statement. "By taking back full control of our rights we will immediately have the opportunity to do so with new partners who have the ability to reach larger audiences."

CSB declined further comment other than the one-paragraph statement. But it is believed the money in dispute is well into the millions.

Mediapro and OneSoccer later responded in a statement.

Clearly the CSB hope is that the break with Mediapro will lead to a more satisfactory media partner and getting its product out to more viewers.

OneSoccer has had a hard time getting cable providers to open their doors to its service, although the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission ruled last March that Rogers Communications had given preferential treatment to its own Sportsnet service over OneSoccer.

The inability to get its properties on major broadcast outlets, other than Telus, is believed to part of CSB's beef with Mediapro.

And while CSB restricted its comments to Thursday's statement, it seems unlikely it would take such a radical step if it was not confident it could find a replacement media partner, given the Canadian women are in action next month at CONCACAF W Gold Cup, the Canadian men' are playing a Copa America playoff March 23 and the sixth season of the CPL kicks off April 13.

The CPL unveiled Mediapro as its media partner in February 2019, less than three months before kicking off its inaugural season. The partnership with Canadian Soccer Business was announced as a 10-year deal.

At the time, a source said Mediapro was investing $200 million into the Canadian project over the lifetime of the deal. Scott Mitchell, CEO of Canadian Soccer Business, called it “the single-largest commitment any company has ever made in terms of soccer in Canada.”

The agreement gave Mediapro global and domestic media rights to the CPL, the Canadian Championship and Canadian men’s and women’s teams. It also included rights to League 1 Ontario matches, a feeder league under the CPL umbrella.

“It’s easy to define our plan in one sentence — we want to build a home for Canadian soccer,” Oscar Lopez Garcia, then CEO of Mediapro Canada, said in 2019.

The deal meant the CPL had someone to handle its game production. At the time the deal was announced, Mediapro said it had some 70 production trucks worldwide and was producing games in 16 different leagues.

Mediapro also produced all Canadian national team games that fall under Canadian Soccer Business jurisdiction.

The company has been in a state of flux of late.

Mediapro refinanced its debts in 2022, handing its majority shareholder, Hong Kong-based Southwind Group, more control. Mediapro co-founder Jaume Roures left the company in October and there were reports around that time that Southwind was looking to sell its 80 per cent stake in Mediapro.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 25, 2024.