Yesterday I was getting ready for the Real Madrid v Betis game on laSexta here in Barcelona, visiting family but futbol takes precedence at certain times, and I was watching the one hour pregame, with interviews and analysis and player profiles, all of the things that I wish I had on golTV at home, loving every minute of it, and then just as the 3 announcers were setting up the table to record their commentaries, one of which was an oil-slick looking Jorge Valdano, the lead muppet announced that due to rights difficulties, the match would not be broadcast that it would only be available on pay per view, laSexta was left in the lerch and couldn´t cover the game. Yes, it really happened that way.

Well, the papers had been writing about it all week, that because of regulations at least one match per round had to be televised on free tv, and this one was the last on the schedule and none previously (even the Barça game) had been shown. Ultimately the decision was in Ramon Calderon´s corner and they pulled the plug on laSexta and Mediapro. Clearly he and the big clubs are siding with Sogecable.

What does this mean for us in the States? I have no idea, but the Mediawar is getting ugly here and while I think it´s early to say if golTV´s package of games will be affected (it may be easier to televise games for all know), here in Spain, even the regulatory body that supposedly governed the interests of the general fan, those that don´t have access to per-per-view, has been effectively neutralized.

Well, just feel lucky, that while I was in the U.S. I could watch all sorts of matches on free and basic cable, dozens even, but here it has been slim pickings.