Flamengo has concerns about the TV rights of the Brazilian Championship

The agreement reached with Libra and Globo for the TV rights to the Brazilian Championship took center stage at the start of Flamengo's season due to disagreements between the club's former and current managers. Rodolfo Landim's board of directors left, leaving behind a contract criticized by Luiz Eduardo Baptista, known as Bap , an opponent who won the election for club president.

The reasons are financial, political and business-oriented . They range from the total amount raised, which could decrease by millions, to the power struggles behind the scenes and the future of the media market. On the eve of the start of the 2025 edition of the Brazilian Championship, which will mark the new agreement.

Since the campaign, Bap's new board has been pointing out Flamengo's potential financial losses with the TV rights to the Brasileirão. The current president was a fervent critic of the deal made by Libra — despite having approved the contract when he was a board member — and tried to review the paperwork with the league's partners.

Flamengo highlights financial loss

In February, at the first meeting of Libra directors after the new red-black management, the president gave this mission to Marcelo Campos Pinto, an executive who

worked in the media market on the other side of the counter, with years at Grupo Globo. The representative, however, was unable to establish a discussion with the directors of other clubs and began to work with the objective of improving the current agreement collectively. People present at the meeting who were interviewed by the report guarantee that the atmosphere was cordial.

Even so, the directors of the other Libra clubs are aware of and prepared for Flamengo's dissatisfaction with the division of the TV rights for the Brasileirão. After all, the Rio de Janeiro club "lost" almost R$70 million from one contract to another, according to projections, due to the end of the guaranteed minimum pay-per-view transfer. The new agreement, in addition to the fixed quota, provides for bonuses for performance and audience.

Political fight between two versions behind the scenes

The strikes are defended by Flamengo's former management. President Rodolfo Landim and vice-president Gustavo Oliveira were the two who led the relationship with Libra and Globo before the election last December. The previous management does not see the agreement as ideal, but points to the home team law (which gave commercial rights to clubs only for home games) and the need for unity with other clubs as arguments in favor of accepting the values and "making the pie bigger" in the medium or long term.

The current board of directors is criticizing the fact that Flamengo was the "only one to lose money" in the negotiations. With experience in the media market (he was CEO of Sky), Bap was upset about not being included in the negotiations. The current president believes that he could have contributed with a bolder and more profitable business model, but he is criticized by opponents for, in theory, wanting Flamengo to "go it alone".

When he was a board member in 2024, the current president was a staunch opponent of the agreement, but voted in favor when the contract was submitted for approval by Flamengo's Deliberative Council. His vote and moderate stance in his speech confused opponents and even allies who are not part of the director's inner circle. At the time, Bap was enigmatic: "It's a strategy." The discussion returned to the agenda last week, when the current administration presented its accounts to board members.

Are international rights a laboratory?

All this dissatisfaction becomes an argument to justify Flamengo's attitude of being a lone wolf in the sale of the international TV rights for the Brazilian Championship. On the other hand, the other 39 clubs in series A and B have agreed to go to the market as a group. The decision has not yet been announced, but it is being aligned behind the scenes.

In an attempt to make this dream a reality, the new Bap management launched Flamengo TV, with the goal of becoming a media powerhouse. The club hired renowned communicators and promised a programming schedule for fans. The intention is to present a product to the market that goes beyond the 19 games that the club has available to sell. The president has spoken publicly about the subject in recent weeks.

— The world is changing very quickly. I come from the media market and I understand that this is a natural thing. There are contracts that are in force, but as these contracts change, this will change. The reason we want to keep the international and betting rights, to sell them separately, has everything to do with the new Flamengo TV — explained Bap.