Primera Nacional: 9 days to go, TV coverage still uncertain | OneFootball

The start of the promotion football championship, specifically the Primera Nacional, is delayed, and its planned kickoff for Friday, February 13, is in limbo, even after a previous postponement in its original schedule. Just days before the scheduled date, the Argentine Football Association has not provided clear indications about who will broadcast the matches, causing great concern among the involved clubs.

The Struggle for Broadcasting

The root of the problem lies in the differences of opinion between the AFA president, Claudio "Chiqui" Tapia, and the treasurer, regarding the continuation of Torneos y Competencias. The contract with the company, which has ties with the Clarín Group, is said to have ended. The AFA president seems to disregard political pressure and newspaper headlines, understanding that the most important thing is the AFA and the clubs.

The reality is that if the only existing offer is from the Clarín Group or TyC Sports, and no agreement is reached, the crucial question arises: who will fund the broadcasting of the matches if TyC Sports is not involved? Evidently, no one else has made a firm offer, leading to the current situation.

The Option of AFA Play and Cacioli's Analysis

As of today, the most secure option, according to available information, would be for the broadcasting to be handled by AFA Play, the AFA's digital platform. In the program "Ascenso x3", journalist Daniel Cacioli explained the situation, indicating that AFA Play is the closest option, although initially, it might not be a paid service and could later become a subscription service.

The main problem, beyond the general economic situation of the country, is that Argentinians are "accustomed to not paying" for football, a habit rooted since the "Fútbol para Todos" era. However, if the promotion does not secure a significant number of subscribers (talks of 100,000), the project would not be viable. For the B Nacional, it is rumored that the subscription cost would be around 10,000 pesos, or 10 dollars.

Consequences and Perspectives

The lack of concrete decisions by the AFA has created an atmosphere of uncertainty, with B Nacional clubs fearing they might not even receive the 50 million pesos monthly they previously earned. The situation is even more critical for lower categories like B Metropolitana or C, where producers have already stated that it is unfeasible to continue due to high expenses that cannot be recovered.

In summary, the news today is the "non-news." There was no key meeting that was supposed to take place to advance the AFA Play issue, and until the AFA makes a final decision, the start of the tournament will remain up in the air.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.