Barcelona have made the decision to shut down Barca TV in attempts to cut costs. The Spanish club informed multinational telecommunications company Telefonica that they will not renew their contract this summer. An official statement is expected from the team in the coming weeks.
Barca TV launched in 1999 as a way to help grow the club’s reach. Telefonica currently manages the television channel for the club. The current contract between the two sides will expire on June 30th. Barcelona’s decision will apparently see around 120 employees lose their jobs. This includes both full-time employees and freelancers.
Barca TV employees previously held strikes
Workers from Barca TV previously organized multiple strikes over poor work conditions last year. The strikes seemingly helped, as the protests ended after nearly a month. However, The Athletic reported that the workers stated that “there were still problems to be solved.”
However, there are suggestions that the LaLiga leaders will use their own production company, Barca Studios, to create new video content. This would essentially help fill the void left behind by axing the station. This remains unconfirmed.
Spanish club has various financial issues
Various financial problems have hit the Catalan giants in recent months. The club were fined for violating Financial Fair Play rules earlier in the year. To help ease these issues the Spanish side sold 24.5% of Barca Studios to help raise funds.
Orpheus Media reportedly purchased the stake for around $220 million. Generating this money essentially helped Los Cules purchase Robert Lewandowski from Bayern Munich last summer. The Polish striker joined the Spanish outfit for around $45 million.
Spending freely on transfers and having a bloated wage bill has also forced the club to find multiple ways to raise significant money. Along with selling a stake in Barca Studios, the Blaugrana have also increased income by securing stadium financing.
Photo credit: IMAGO / ZUMA Wire
