Audiovisual Sport is a Spanish

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 company dedicated to "buy, manage, exploit and administer Spanish football Liga

La Liga

The Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...

 and Copa del Rey

Copa del Rey

The Copa del Rey is an annual football cup competition for Spanish football teams. Its full name is Campeonato de España – Copa de Su Majestad el Rey de Fútbol ....

 rights.

The company was created in 1997 as a joint venture of the three main soccer TV rights owners in Spain, namely Sogecable

Sogecable

PRISA Televisión, S.A.U is the leading pay TV company in Spain, created in 1989 and controlled by PRISA. It was the first company to introduce interactive systems and specially Digital Television in Spain...

 (40%), Telefónica de Contenidos (a subsidiary of Telefónica

Telefónica

Telefónica, S.A. is a Spanish broadband and telecommunications provider in Europe and Latin America. Operating globally, it is the third largest provider in the world...

) (40%), and the Catalan

Catalonia

Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...

 government TV network (Corporació Catalana de Mitjans Audiovisuals, or CCMA) (20%). AVS enjoyed a monopoly on Spanish soccer rights, which caused an investigation by the European Commission

European Commission

The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....

, cleared in 2003.

In 2003 Sogecable bought Telefónica's stake, therefore increasing its share to 80%.

In 2007 a row erupted between AVS and the other main owner of Spanish soccer rights, namely Mediapro

Mediapro

Mediapro is a multimedia communications group in Spain. Founded in 1994 in Barcelona, the company is involved in movie and television production, as well as media ....

.