(MENAFN- The Rio Times) Brazil's most-watched club, Flamengo, has decided to fight from inside the country's main league bloc, Libra, rather than walk away. The dispute sounds technical, but it is simple at heart: who gets how much of the TV and streaming money.

Libra's media deal with Globo runs through 2029 and is worth about R$1.17 billion ($221 million) a year, plus extra from the Premiere pay-per-view service.

The pot is split three ways: 40% equally among clubs, 30% by league position, and 30% by“audience.” Most clubs want that last slice divided by plain viewership share.

Flamengo argues the contract requires a weighted formula that reflects how much each platform-free TV, cable, and streaming-actually contributes to revenue, and those weights were never fixed.

In short: if streaming brings in less cash than broadcast, streaming audiences should count for less in the split. To force a rethink, Flamengo obtained an injunction that froze an initial R$77 million ($15 million) distribution and could hold up to R$230 million ($43 million) if the freeze extends across the year.



Other clubs say the cash squeeze is harmful; Flamengo says the internal vote approving the criteria broke Libra's own rules. The backdrop is a 2021 law that handed home clubs the right to sell match broadcasts, triggering two rival blocs.
Brazilian Football Rights Battle Heats Up
Libra groups heavyweights like Flamengo, Palmeiras , São Paulo, Santos, Atlético-MG, Grêmio, and Bahia. The other camp, Liga Forte União (LFU), stitched together a multi-partner package expected to yield around R$1.7 billion ($321 million) per year from 2025 via Record, YouTube/CazéTV, and Amazon.

This follows an earlier move that raised roughly R$2.6 billion ($491 million) by selling a long-term minority slice of future rights to investors.

LFU divides its pot 45% equal, 30% performance, 25% audience. Vitória has voted to switch from Libra to LFU, but the change takes effect only after 2029.

Why this matters outside Brazil: where the money lands shapes what you can watch, when you can watch it, and how much clubs can spend on players and academies.

This fight is a stress test for how football balances brand power, sporting merit, and solidarity-and it will set the tone for Brazil's next rights cycle from 2030 onward.

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