Spanish media giant Mediapro is preparing for a transformative chapter in its three-decade history, announcing an imminent rebrand to ‘Imagina’ as part of a sweeping strategic overhaul designed to draw a line under a challenging few years and showcase an expanded service portfolio far beyond traditional production and distribution.
Founded in Barcelona in 1994, the agency has spent decades establishing itself as an indispensable fixture in the sports and entertainment landscape. Domestically and internationally, it became a crucial, long-standing partner for Spanish soccer’s top flight, LaLiga, while concurrently building a formidable presence across various overseas markets, particularly throughout the Spanish-speaking world. Over the years, the company grew into a multifaceted powerhouse, touching nearly every corner of media production, broadcasting, and rights management.
However, the journey has not been without significant turbulence. In recent years, the company faced high-profile setbacks that reshaped its operational landscape. Among the most notable was the loss of its contract to produce and distribute LaLiga matches, a major blow to its domestic production footprint. Additionally, the firm remains widely remembered in the industry for its disastrous domestic rights deal with French soccer’s Ligue 1—a turbulent saga that abruptly ended in its first year and left the French football league grappling with financial and broadcasting repercussions from which it is still working to fully recover.
The leadership ranks have experienced an equally profound evolution. Last October, former chief executive and co-founder Tatxo Benet stepped down from his position, marking a historic milestone: for the first time in the company’s existence, none of Mediapro’s three founding co-partners remain with the organization. This follows the departure of Jaume Roures in 2023 and Gerard Romy in 2016.
Now operating under the leadership of Chief Executive Carlos Nunez, the company has decided that the time is right for a comprehensive refresh. Executives used a high-profile session at the Sportel sports business conference in Monaco to communicate directly to the industry that its tumultuous period is firmly behind it, while using the international stage to reintroduce the full depth of its modern service offering.
According to company representatives, the structural refresh reflects a fundamental shift in how the organization operates internally. Mediapro stated that it will now work "in horizontal instead of verticals," meaning that every department and specialized division will contribute to one integrated, cohesive offer for clients rather than operating in isolated silos.
Daniel Chiara, head of commercial and rights at Mediapro, explained the philosophy behind the shift during the Monaco conference, acknowledging the changing realities of the modern sports marketplace. "We know that [the] sports media landscape has changed, and this is why we’re evolving," Chiara told attendees. "You know, 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."
Chiara noted that the industry-standard frameworks of the past are no longer fit for purpose in a modern media ecosystem defined by digital consumption habits. "The traditional rights models that we’ve been working [with] for many, many, many years—we believe that they don’t work anymore," he said. "In an age [where] distribution is fragmented, we can [help reach] different audiences and platforms and [identify] the different ways to monetise."
To demonstrate its modern value proposition, Chiara pointed to Mediapro’s deep institutional experience across diverse media verticals. Beyond live sports broadcasting, the company boasts a proven track record in producing high-end entertainment programming and feature films, operating dedicated television stations, and managing direct-to-consumer OTT streaming services. These capabilities, Chiara emphasized, give the company the unique ability to "produce just about anything."
Furthermore, the firm has actively modernised its operational capabilities by developing a specialized social-first unit and an advanced virtual advertising arm. Combined with its extensive network of international offices, Chiara argued that the company is uniquely positioned to help rights holders expand their global footprints and navigate complex digital landscapes.
The choice of the name ‘Imagina’ carries historical significance for the group. The moniker was previously used by Mediapro’s former parent company following a major corporate merger with Globomedia back in 2005. When asked by SportsPro whether the decision to rebrand was explicitly designed to distance the agency from the headline-making challenges of the previous few years, Xavi Perez, head of strategy and operations, suggested that the motivation went far beyond crisis management.
"Mediapro had the same leadership since it was born [in] 1994," Perez explained. "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. So I think it was maybe not necessary, but something that helps us tell the story."
Elaborating on the internal transformation, Chiara added that the past year has been characterized by intense introspection, reworking, and structural reorganization. "It has been, I wouldn’t say [a] challenging year, but it has been a lot of reworking, a lot of restructuring," Chiara reflected. "Today, we’re finally in a place that we can go into a rights holder, or to a meeting with a rights holder, to a tender, knowing exactly how we can help, with a concise business plan, and telling them exactly how we can add to it properly. I don’t think that there is one company that can do what we can do in terms of compiling everything into one space."
As it prepares to formally transition to the Imagina banner, the company highlighted its ongoing work with major governing bodies such as UEFA and CONMEBOL as primary examples of its unified portfolio in action. Looking ahead, the firm has also identified emerging disciplines and women’s sports as significant potential sources of future growth.
Despite its diversification efforts, the company remains inextricably linked to its foundational relationship with Spanish soccer. Mediapro remains LaLiga’s official international audiovisual agency, holding a mandate to sell the league’s media rights across overseas territories through the end of the 2028/29 season.
That crucial international partnership was extended in 2023, though the revised agreement notably excluded the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and North American regions, where LaLiga had already established alternative regional sales partnerships. In North America, Relevent manages LaLiga’s rights, while in MENA, Bahrain-based Strive stepped in as a partner in a joint venture last year following the collapse of Galaxy Racer (GXR). Additionally, LaLiga has formed the ‘Peak’ joint venture in collaboration with Ocho Sport.
The shifting dynamics of its relationship with the Spanish league have not been entirely smooth. Mediapro reacted with considerable frustration when it lost the lucrative domestic production contract to rival HBS, publicly arguing that its own financial and technical proposal was significantly more competitive while questioning its competitor’s delivery capabilities. However, the agency ultimately chose to drop its formal legal challenge, adopting a much more conciliatory tone during its presentations in Monaco.
When asked whether the company had secured formal guarantees regarding the long-term future of its international agency relationship beyond the expiration of its current deal, Chiara dismissed the need for contractual assurances. "I don’t think we need any guarantees," Chiara stated. "I mean, we’re LaLiga’s agency [through] to 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."
Acknowledging the changing landscape—including the creation of external joint ventures like Peak—Chiara remained pragmatic and forward-looking about the partnership’s evolution. "We don’t know what’s going to happen after 2029. I don’t think it’s a [lost cause]. It’s something that we’re working towards every day, bringing value to the brand as well. I think that, of course, there was a rocky time, and, you know, Peak does exist. It’s something that is there […] I think it’s [more] a collaboration, and it has been a very positive collaboration since I stepped into this role."
