Mediapro on the brink?

Spain’s TV group Mediapro is reportedly set to request a €300 million financial rescue package from the public investment bank SEPI (Sociedad Estatal de Participaciones Industriales) to solve its economic problems brought on by the pandemic.

The TV group, with 5,000 workers in the country and 3,000 outside, must fulfil criteria that it is a nationally strategic company so that SEPI can inject funding and assist.

Mediapro has been hit hard by the pandemic, with revenues falling and the loss of high-profile sports contracts such as French League 1 and Italian Serie A football, on top of reduced fees in Spain’s La Liga.

Mediapro’s financial situation has drastically worsened just three years after a €552 million injection from the Chinese group Orient Hontai, the largest shareholder in the company with a 53 per cent stake.

Last year, the government approved public aid of €15 million to help private TV groups. Advanced Television