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FOOTBALL

China fund takes control of Spanish football TV rights giant

Chinese investment fund Orient Hontai Capital has taken control of Mediapro, best known for owning television rights to the Spanish and Italian football leagues, the Spanish media group said Friday.

China fund takes control of Spanish football TV rights giant
Seville supporters watch a match on television in a bar. File photo: AFP

The fund bought a 53.5 percent stake in Imagina, a holding company that includes Mediapro, which also produces films and series, and Globomedia, another media producer, for one billion euros ($1.2 billion).

The agreement gives Orient Hontai control over lucrative international television distribution rights for Spain's La Liga, as well as the Italian league's domestic TV rights.

In Spain, Mediapro has the rights for the Champions League and eight out of every 10 La Liga matches.

“The agreement will give the group access to the emerging market in China,” Mediapro added in a statement.

Mediapro also has television distribution rights for the International Basketball Federation in Spain.

Apart from sports, it has produced films such as Midnight in Paris and other Woody Allen movies, and television series including The Young Pope starring Jude Law.

The president of the group Jaume Roures, based in Barcelona, is an influential media man in Spain.

Fervently pro-independence, he is thought to be close to Catalan separatist leaders.

He owns 12 percent of Mediapro, as does Tatxo Benet, another founder.

British advertising giant WPP owns the remaining 22.5 percent.   

Both Roures and Benet will remain at the head of the group.   

“The acquisition of Imagina will not only allow us to introduce advanced audiovisual production technology in China, but also open up new persectives for exchange and cooperation between China, Spain and Latin America in the fields of content, culture, sports,” said Tony Ma, head of Orient Hontai.

The Chinese fund specialises in investments in the technology and media sectors.

READ MORE: China's troubled Wanda sells stake in Atletico Madrid

RACISM

VIDEO: Spain’s La Liga reviews video of boy racially abusing Vinicius

Spain's La Liga on Monday said it was reviewing a video of a child making racist insults towards Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior during the 2-2 draw with Valencia at the weekend.

VIDEO: Spain's La Liga reviews video of boy racially abusing Vinicius

“We’re in the process of studying and analysing the facts from a legal standpoint to see what we can and should do,” La Liga sources said.

In a video published by a journalist for ESPN Brasil, and picked up by Spanish media, a boy sitting in a woman’s lap can be heard calling Vinicius a “monkey”.

https://twitter.com/GravesenFumado/status/1764242481984491822

The Brazilian scored twice for Madrid as his team recovered from two goals down at Mestalla on Saturday.

Vinicius raised his fist in a “Black Power” salute after the first of his two goals at a ground where he was racially abused last season. Valencia subsequently banned three people from the stadium for life.

The 23-year-old has become a symbol of the fight against discrimination in Spanish football after suffering racist abuse on many occasions, and he was jeered repeatedly by home supporters on Saturday.

Jude Bellingham was sent off after the final whistle against Valencia for protesting after the referee blew the final whistle right before the England midfielder headed home what he thought was the winning goal.

READ ALSO: Football star Vinicius highlights racist behaviour from Spanish fans

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