According to AS, La Liga has achieved an important victory in the distribution of TV rights. The Madrid court dismissed Real Madrid's lawsuit against the new distribution criteria established by La Liga for 2023, and Real Madrid was ordered to bear the related legal costs.

The dispute stems from a new TV revenue distribution mechanism introduced by La Liga in 2023. The scheme aims to reward clubs that actively cooperate with broadcasters and help enhance the value of the league's audio-visual products.

Under this mechanism, clubs that are willing to participate in more media cooperation activities, such as pre-match interviews, half-time interviews, post-match interviews, and allowing TV broadcast teams to enter the locker room for filming, will be able to receive more related income to "enhance the league's social influence."

La Liga believes that these measures can enhance the value of match broadcasting and increase the overall commercial value of TV rights, so clubs with a higher degree of participation should receive more benefits.

However, Real Madrid objected to this and filed a lawsuit with the court, requesting the annulment of the relevant agreement passed by the La Liga First Division Committee in August 2023.

Now, Civil Court No. 26 of the Madrid Court of First Instance has fully rejected Real Madrid's claims and ordered Real Madrid to bear the litigation costs.

La Liga stated that the court's judgment confirmed that the relevant laws do not strictly limit the concept of "resources generated through TV commercialization" and do not stipulate that the standard must be measured only based on match viewership.

La Liga pointed out: "The judgment recognizes that the system established by La Liga is incentive-based and built on the voluntary participation of clubs in relevant actions. Therefore, this mechanism does not deprive clubs of ownership of relevant non-mandatory transferred audio-visual rights, nor does it limit the possibility of clubs developing these rights independently."

The court also denied that La Liga abused its power, believing that the agreement was approved by an authorized body and met the prescribed voting requirements, and had sufficient purpose and operational basis.

In addition, La Liga also emphasized that the judgment pointed out that Real Madrid did not provide technical evidence to prove the specific economic losses claimed in its lawsuit.

La Liga stated: "We will continue to uphold the legitimacy of the league agreement, respect the event governance bodies, and promote the implementation of measures that help improve the value and quality of audio-visual products, thereby benefiting all clubs."

The core of this legal dispute is the future direction of La Liga's TV rights business model: Real Madrid emphasizes traditional competitive influence and market contribution, while La Liga hopes to increase the value of the entire league's rights through increased media interaction and commercial development. This judgment means that La Liga's current TV rights distribution mechanism will continue to be implemented.

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