Mediapro is preparing for a significant evolution as it transitions to the name ‘Imagina’, a strategic rebrand designed to draw a line under a challenging few years for the Barcelona-based sports media and production agency while driving wider awareness of its comprehensive service portfolio.
Founded in Spain in 1994, the agency has spent decades establishing itself as a cornerstone of the domestic and international sports landscape, most notably acting as a key partner for Spanish soccer’s LaLiga. Over the years, the company has also built a formidable presence across various overseas markets, particularly within the Spanish-speaking world, positioning itself as a trusted heavyweight in broadcast production, distribution, and commercial rights management.
However, the path hasn’t always been smooth. The company faced notable headwinds, including the loss of its domestic contract to produce and distribute LaLiga matches last year—a blow that triggered strong reactions from the agency before it eventually dropped its legal challenge. Furthermore, Mediapro remains etched in the industry’s memory for its disastrous domestic rights deal with French football’s Ligue 1. That high-profile partnership collapsed in its very first year, leaving the French professional league in a state of financial and structural recovery that it has taken years to navigate.
The leadership landscape at the agency has also undergone a profound transformation. Former chief executive and co-founder Tatxo Benet stepped down from his position last October, marking the final exit of Mediapro’s original trio of founding co-partners. Jaume Roures departed the company in 2023, while Gerard Romy stepped away earlier in 2016. With Carlos Nunez now at the helm, the organization has decided that the time is ripe for a comprehensive corporate refresh.
Taking to the stage at the Sportel sports business conference in Monaco, the company’s new leadership team utilized the global platform to stress that its tumultuous chapter is firmly behind it. Rather than looking backward, executives focused on reminding the broader sports industry of the breadth, depth, and agility of its modern service offering.
According to Mediapro, the corporate refresh reflects a fundamental shift in how the organization operates internally. The company is moving away from traditional, isolated operational silos and shifting toward a horizontal model where every department contributes seamlessly to a single, integrated commercial and creative proposition.
Daniel Chiara, head of commercial and rights at Mediapro, elaborated on this strategic pivot during the Monaco conference, noting that the agency recognizes how much the modern sports ecosystem has transformed. Rights holders today are increasingly building out their own internal capabilities and developing a sophisticated understanding of how to directly exploit their commercial and media assets. In response, Mediapro is positioning itself not as an old-school gatekeeper, but as a collaborative partner.
Chiara noted that the traditional rights models the agency relied upon for many years simply do not work in the modern landscape anymore. In an era defined by highly fragmented distribution channels, Mediapro believes its core value lies in helping sports organizations reach diverse audiences across multiple platforms while identifying innovative and lucrative ways to monetize those assets.
To demonstrate this versatility, Chiara pointed to the company’s extensive track record outside of live sports broadcasting. Mediapro has deep-rooted experience in producing high-end entertainment programming, feature films, and operating traditional television stations alongside modern over-the-top (OTT) streaming services. These capabilities, he argued, give the company the unique ability to produce virtually any kind of content a partner might require.
In addition to its traditional broadcasting prowess, the agency houses a specialized social-first digital unit and a cutting-edge virtual advertising arm. Chiara also highlighted the firm’s robust network of international offices as tangible evidence of its capacity to help rights holders expand their brands on a truly global scale.
The name ‘Imagina’ carries historical significance for those familiar with the company’s corporate lineage. It was previously used by Mediapro’s former parent company following a 2005 merger with Globomedia. When asked by SportsPro whether the firm felt the rebrand was explicitly necessary to distance itself from the negative headlines and challenges of the previous few years, head of strategy and operations Xavi Perez suggested that damage control was not the primary driver.
Perez explained that because Mediapro operated under the exact same leadership from its birth in 1994 right up until recent years, the brand identity and the founding figures became virtually inseparable. Consequently, launching a fresh brand name makes natural sense as a way to visually and culturally signal the arrival of a new leadership team, a modernized operational focus, and a forward-looking narrative. While perhaps not strictly mandatory for survival, the rebrand serves as an effective vehicle to help the company tell its new story to the market.
Chiara echoed these sentiments, reflecting candidly on the intensive internal overhaul the business has undergone. While stopping short of labeling the period strictly as challenging, he acknowledged that it involved an immense amount of reworking and restructuring. Today, the executive feels the company is finally in a position where it can sit down with a rights holder or enter a competitive tender with absolute clarity, armed with a concise business plan and a precise understanding of how to genuinely add value. He boldly asserted that no other single company can currently replicate what Mediapro can compile into one unified space.
While the agency continues to look toward emerging disciplines and women’s sports as promising new frontiers for corporate growth, and points to ongoing work with governing bodies like Uefa and Conmebol as proof of its capabilities, its identity remains closely tied to its landmark relationship with LaLiga.
Mediapro remains LaLiga’s international audiovisual agency through to the end of the 2028/29 season, holding the crucial mandate of selling the Spanish top-flight’s media rights across overseas territories. That vital contract was successfully extended in 2023, though the revised agreement notably excluded the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and North America regions, where LaLiga had already established localized sales partnerships. In North America, Relevent manages LaLiga’s rights, while in MENA, a Bahrain-based entity named Strive stepped in last year as a partner in a joint venture following turbulence with previous collaborators. LaLiga has also fostered collaborative structures such as the ‘Peak’ joint venture alongside Ocho Sport.
The loss of the separate production contract to rival HBS had previously sparked significant frustration within Mediapro, with executives publicly questioning whether their competitor could match their level of delivery. However, having dropped its legal challenges and embraced a new corporate mindset, the company adopted a distinctly conciliatory tone during its appearance in Monaco.
Addressing reporters regarding whether the agency had received any formal guarantees about its long-term future with LaLiga beyond the expiration of the current agreement in 2029, Chiara remained pragmatic and unfazed. He emphasized that the agency does not need special guarantees, noting that they are proudly LaLiga’s international agency for the next several years and are fully committed to fulfilling their responsibilities under a dynamic that has successfully evolved.
While the future post-2029 remains unwritten, Chiara views it as an ongoing opportunity rather than a lost cause, emphasizing that the team works diligently every day to drive value for the LaLiga brand. Acknowledging that rocky times and alternative arrangements like the Peak partnership are simply part of the modern reality, he framed the current dynamic as a positive collaboration that has flourished since he assumed his current role.
