Mediapro files for bankruptcy protection

In light of the announcement made today by Mediapro to file for bankruptcy protection, Sogecable would like to make clear the following points:

1) As is public knowledge, on March 15, the Court of First Instance No. 36 of Madrid, ruled in favor of the lawsuit filed by Audiovisual Sport (in which Sogecable holds an 80% stake, and Televisión de Cataluña, 20%) against Mediapro.

That ruling declared the validity and enforceability of the contract signed in July 2006 by Sogecable, Audiovisual Sport (AVS), Mediapro, and Televisión de Cataluña, and recognized the serious and repeated breaches of that contract by Mediapro; it further required Mediapro to provide all football-broadcast rights to Audiovisual Sport and ordered Mediapro to pay 97 million euros, plus interest, in damages to the company dating from the start of the 2006/07 season until February 2008. The ruling also ordered Mediapro to pay costs, bringing the total to approximately 105 million euros.

2) After a series of clarifications requested by Mediapro to the said court in order to delay the immediate execution of the sentence, AVS requested on June 9, the execution of the ruling in defense of its legitimate interests. AVS also intends to submit a second claim for damages incurred during the season and a half remaining (from February 2008 until the end of the 2008/09 season) during which Mediapro continued to be in breach of the July 2006 contract.

3) In order to stay the enforcement of the sentence and consequently to delay payment of the 105 million euros to AVS, Mediapro has decided to file for bankruptcy protection.

4) Sogecable must this month make the first payment for the rights of the League for next season and has expressed in writing its intention to make such a payment. At the same time, Mediapro has been asked to provide a bank guarantee or similar security pending the moment the rights revert to their rightful owner (AVS) and since Mediapro cannot fulfill the contract signed in June 2009 on football-broadcast rights.

Mediapro's response has been to falsely attribute to Sogecable an intention to file for bankruptcy protection.

5) Sogecable will be able to broadcast the matches of both the Premier and Second Division next season. The relevant contract is still in force and Sogecable has expressed its determination to fulfill it, without prejudice to any effects on the court order.