‘Clasico’ chases Asian cash with early kick-off

THE PREMIER LEAGUE’S ESTIMATED $3.9 BILLION INCOME FROM THEIR TELEVISION RIGHTS A SEASON DWARFS LA LIGA’S $1.9 BN REVENUE

MADRID: For the first time, Spanish football’s showpiece event, El Clasico between giants Real Madrid and Barcelona, has been scheduled for a lunchtime kickoff (1200GMT) on Saturday as La Liga seeks to capture Asia’s attention and its cash. “We are keen to provide our fans in Asia the opportunity to watch Real Madrid and Barcelona face off at a time that is convenient to them,” said La Liga’s Chief Communications Officer Joris Evers.

With a potential TV audience of 650 million people, according to La Liga, El Clasico is the most watched club match around the world thanks to its unique mixture of star protagonists and a fierce rivalry fostered over decades both on the field and off it by the distinct cultural differences between Catalonia and Madrid. “It is the ideal shop window, the marquee match to show to people Spanish football,” said Jose Maria Gay de Liebana, an expert in Spanish football finances.

However, it is not just a boom in lucrative television rights that La Liga and its two biggest clubs are seeking with an early start this weekend, but a showcase for all of their lucrative sponsorship contracts. Last year, Barcelona signed a club record shirt sponsorship deal worth a minimum of 220 million euros ($258 million) over four years with Japanese online retailer Rakuten.

“They want to sell their products to international markets, above all in Asia,” added Gay de Liebana. “The kick-off of the next El Clasico on December 23 is at 1300 Madrid time, 2000 in Shanghai, 1900 in Jakarta and 1730 in New Delhi.”

“These are all locations where we know there are many La Liga fans and where we will be hosting events to celebrate El Clasico.

LAGGING BEHIND

Such events are a sign of La Liga’s awareness of how the Spanish top flight lags behind England’s cash rich Premier League in the battle for Asian based fans.

The Premier League’s estimated $3.9 billion income from domestic and international TV rights a season dwarfs La Liga’s $1.9 bn revenue.