Mediapro turns to Imagina as rights business changes course
Mediapro will relaunch as Imagina on January 1, 2027, combining its production, rights and digital services as new management seeks growth following restructuring and the loss of its domestic LaLiga production contract.
Grup Mediapro will adopt the Imagina name from January 1, 2027, as the Spanish media group reorganises its services around an integrated offering for rights holders facing fragmented distribution and changing commercial models.The relaunch follows management changes, 189 staff cuts and the loss of its domestic LaLiga production contract, with the company seeking to connect its broadcast, entertainment, digital and advertising capabilities more closely.Mediapro head of commercial and rights Daniel Chiara said: “We know that the sports media landscape has changed, and this is why we’re evolving.“The traditional rights models that we’ve been working with for many, many, many years – we believe that they don’t work anymore.”The company’s proposed response is to bring departments together around individual clients rather than sell services through separate business divisions.Its offering spans live production, rights distribution, entertainment programming, television and streaming operations, social content and virtual advertising, with international offices supporting expansion into different markets.Chiara explained: “Rights holders today are building more capabilities in house. We understand this. We understand that everybody is understanding how they can better exploit their rights. So, what we want to do is to collaborate.”The change comes under executive chairman Sergio Oslé and chief executive Carlos Núñez, following the departures of founding executives including Jaume Roures and Tatxo Benet.Management expects EBITDA to increase between 50% and 60% against 2025, alongside positive cash generation, following a review intended to align resources with current market conditions.The company said: “The next step is to drive new projects that deliver unique experiences to audiences around the world, funding this growth with more than €100 million the company itself will generate over the next three years.”The Imagina name revives an identity previously used by the group’s parent company, connecting the new strategy with its corporate history.Head of strategy and operations Xavi Perez said: “Mediapro had the same leadership since it was born in 1994. So I think the brand and everything was really associated as well with the leadership.“I think it makes sense to launch a new brand. It’s also part of showing the new leadership and the new focus and everything.”The transition follows setbacks in two major football markets, including the collapse of Mediapro’s French domestic rights agreement during its first season and the subsequent loss of LaLiga’s production contract to HBS.Mediapro challenged the Spanish production decision before dropping its legal action, and is now emphasising cooperation within its remaining relationship with the league.It continues as LaLiga’s international audiovisual agency until the end of 2028/29, although regional arrangements exclude territories handled through other partners.Chiara said: “I mean, we’re LaLiga’s agency until 2029. Of course, there is a different dynamic from years past that we have embraced, and it’s my responsibility to do what we were hired to do.”The company has identified emerging sports and women’s sport as potential growth areas, while citing work with UEFA and CONMEBOL as examples of its broader service capabilities.Its immediate task is to translate the restructuring into new contracts while delivering the remaining LaLiga mandate, whose longer-term future remains unresolved.Chiara acknowledged: “We don’t know what’s going to happen after 2029.”