Canadian Soccer Business and Mediapro, its media partner, have filed a lawsuit in a dispute that will have a major ripple effect on the sport in Canada.
Both parties blame each other for this rupture. But this legal action essentially means that Canadian Soccer Business (CSB) has taken over the broadcast rights to all of its properties and is looking for new broadcast/media partners.
CSB, whose ownership group and board of directors include the owners of the Canadian Premier League (CPL), handles the marketing and broadcast rights for the CPL and Soccer Canada.
Mediapro is a multimedia communications group based in Barcelona, Spain. Mediapro Canada owns OneSoccer, the streaming service that broadcasts both CPL and Canadian national team matches.
The dispute means OneSoccer is missing its core Canadian content.
CSB alleges that Mediapro “failed to meet its significant contractual obligations, including non-payment of the majority of its rights due for 2023 and failure to reach a broader audience for Canada’s national teams, the Canadian Championship and the Canadian Premier League.
“Our decision to take legal action was not taken lightly, but we felt it was necessary to protect the enormous investments we have made to grow the sport in Canada,” CSB said via channel. of press release. By regaining full control of our rights, we will immediately have the opportunity to do so with new partners who have the capacity to reach a wider audience. »
CSB declined further comment beyond the one-paragraph statement, but the sums in dispute are estimated to run into the millions.
Mediapro presented another version of the facts, pointing the finger at CSB.
“Despite Canadians’ immense passion for soccer, it has become clear that CSB has been and will not be able to fulfill its part of our commercial agreement,” Mediapro wrote in a statement. We have done our best to work with CSB on a constructive path, but we have reached a position where we have no choice but to seek to terminate our agreement. As this matter is now before the Ontario Superior Court, we will have no further comment. »
The release states that Mediapro has invested “more than $60 million to create an ecosystem for Canadian sport and its fans, including through new production facilities and capabilities, popular online communities and the creation of OneSoccer, a unique channel in its genre dedicated to Canadian soccer.
“We believe that no other entity has invested as much in Canadian soccer as Mediapro,” insisted the Spanish group.