This Monday brought more than just Spain’s Christmas lottery payouts. Spanish soccer’s television windfall was also handed out, with LaLiga publishing the distribution of broadcast revenue for the 2024-25 season, one of the most important income streams for clubs.
LaLiga allocated €1.432 billion ($1.68 billion) in audiovisual rights, down from €1.498 billion ($1.76 billion) the previous season, across the top two divisions. Despite winning the league title, Barcelona lost its position as the club earning the most television money, slipping behind Real Madrid, which completed a financial “overtake.” Even so, the rest of the league remains far behind Spain’s two biggest clubs.
Real Madrid overtakes Barcelona despite loss in earnings
Top-flight clubs saw a reduction in television income compared to the previous campaign, with the total pot for LaLiga dropping from €1.351 billion ($1.59 billion) to €1.292 billion ($1.52 billion). Real Madrid was among the least affected. The club earned €159.55 million ($187.52 million) in 2023-24 and received €157.92 million ($185.6 million) last season.
Barcelona’s decline was steeper. The reigning champion fell from €162.49 million ($190.98 million) to €156.45 million ($183.88 million), enough to drop behind its historic rival in the final ranking.
How Madrid’s stance against LaLiga costs millions
Real Madrid could have earned more, but its ongoing confrontation with LaLiga worked against it. The club has refused to cooperate with the league’s new audiovisual protocol, which financially rewards teams that provide greater access to television broadcasters.
That includes allowing cameras into locker rooms, offering players for pregame, halftime, and postgame interviews, and contributing to behind-the-scenes content. Real Madrid argues those spaces should be commercialized by each club individually rather than by LaLiga. As a result, the club has limited access, declined to participate, and taken the dispute to court, a stance that has also reduced its television income.
How the rest compare to Real Madrid and Barça
Atlético Madrid remains the third-highest earner from television revenue, though its income also fell, from €117.89 million ($138.56 million) to €108.17 million ($127.13 million).
Except for the three teams promoted from the Segunda División in 2023-24 and Girona (coming off their historic season that took them to the Champions League), the rest saw a drop in earnings.
Leganés were the club that earned the least from television revenue in 2024-25, with €39.93 million ($46.93 million).
It is worth noting that this distribution does not yet reflect LaLiga’s most recent broadcast rights deal, finalized less than a month ago. In the latest domestic tender, LaLiga sold First Division television rights for the 2027-32 cycle at €1.05 billion ($1.23 billion) per season, increasing the value by €60 million ($70.52 million) per year.
How TV money is split in LaLiga
Half of the total revenue is divided equally among the 20 clubs. The remaining 50 percent is split into two parts.
One portion is based on sporting performance over the last five seasons, with different weights applied. The most recent season counts for 35 percent, the previous one for 20 percent, and each of the three before that for 15 percent. League position determines the share. From the 35 percent tied to last season, 17 percent went to the champion, Real Madrid. Second place earned 15 percent, third place 13 percent, while the second-to-last team received just 0.5 percent and the last-place team 0.25 percent of the total pot.
The other portion rewards each club’s social reach, with no team allowed to exceed 20 percent or fall below 2 percent. One-third of this amount is based on average ticket sales and season passes over the past five seasons. The remaining two-thirds depends on each club’s contribution to the commercial value of television broadcasts.
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