Brazilian Senate has approved this last Tuesday the ‘Lei do Mandante’ (N°. 2,336; 2021), which introduces changes on football matches broadcasting rights in Brazil. The text makes changes on the current regulations established in the ‘Lei Pele’ (N° 9,615; 1998), which reports that the TV rights of the teams that star in a football match must be divided equally between both; and it allows teams that plays  the matches as local ones to negotiate for the TV rights regardless of the agreements that the other team has.

The Lei do Mandante has already been approved by the Brazilian Deputies Chamber, and will only be applied on football matches, leaving out the rest of the sports disciplines that are practiced professionally in the country. In case the Law is sanctioned, those TV agreements that Brazilian football clubs have previously ran must be respected, with which the Law will be applied only for those agreements that take place if the Law is sanctioned.

With the changes, those TV broadcasters interested in airing the matches will need to negotiate only with one team, and no longer with both. In turn, by allowing local teams to negotiate TV rights, clubs will be able to create new opportunities for OTT platforms and other TV channels, as well as new revenues.

Changes came up as a Brazilian Government initiative in mid-2020, and was published in the Diário Oficial da União. After being approved by the country’s Deputies and Senators Chambers, it is only necessary for the President, Jair Bolsonaro, to approve the Law so that it can be officially applied.