What is Movistar Plus+?
Movistar Plus+ is the pay-television platform of Telefónica, the Spanish telecommunications operator. Reporting of Telefónica España's results on 29 July 2026 recorded that "Telefónica rozó los cuatro millones de abonados en Movistar+, alcanzando los 3,943 millones, aumentando su base de clientes en 268.000 los clientes y mejorando un 7% en términos interanuales" — that is, 3.943 million subscribers as at the end of the second quarter of 2026.[6]
Its position in Spanish television viewing is much smaller than that figure suggests, because pay platforms are measured per channel. The Barlovento Comunicación monthly report for June 2026 put Movistar's own pay channels at 0.2 per cent of viewing and the DAZN group at 0.1 per cent in that month, against 20.9 per cent for the RTVE group.[7] Subscriber counts and audience shares are different measures and are not combined here.
The platform describes itself on its sports pages as "la única plataforma con deporte, fútbol, cine, series, documentales"; that is the operator's own characterisation of its content range and is attributed to it rather than adopted.[2]
What does Movistar Plus+ cover?
The platform's own sports section lists what it carries. In football it names LALIGA EA SPORTS, LALIGA HYPERMOTION, the Champions League, the UEFA Europa League, the Premier League and the FA Cup. In basketball it lists the Euroleague and the Liga Endesa. In tennis it lists Grand Slam tournaments, Masters 1000 and ATP 500 events and the Davis Cup. Beyond those it lists rugby, Premier Padel, snooker, cycling — including the Tour de Luxembourg and UCI Europe Tour races — motor racing, ASOBAL handball, sport climbing, triathlon, athletics, combat sports, golf, esports and motorcycling.[1]
That listing is the operator's own description of its 2026/27 line-up and is reported as such. One qualification is visible on the platform's own Champions League page, which for the 2026-27 season offers "El mejor partido de Champions por jornada" — the best match of each matchday — rather than the full competition, and which makes no claim of exclusivity for that season.[2] The exclusivity described in the next section begins later.
The 2026/27 LaLiga season, the last of the current domestic rights cycle, is split between Movistar Plus+ and DAZN; the award that governs the following five seasons is dated 28 November 2025 and is described below.[3]
How large is Movistar Plus+'s audience?
The measured figure for the platform is its subscriber base. Telefónica España's results, reported on 29 July 2026, gave 3.943 million Movistar Plus+ subscribers at the end of the second quarter of 2026, an increase of 268,000 and of 7 per cent year on year.[6] That is a customer count reported by the parent company, not an audience measurement by a third party.
No per-programme or per-competition audience figure for Movistar Plus+ could be retrieved from a measurement body, and none is given. Spanish monthly television measurement counts the platform's individual channels rather than the platform, and in June 2026 those channels together were reported at 0.2 per cent of viewing.[7]
The commercial figures attached to its rights are better documented than its audience. LaLiga's award of 28 November 2025 covered the 2027/28 to 2031/32 seasons and was reported at €6.135 billion in total: €5.250 billion for LALIGA EA SPORTS, €650 million for hospitality rights, €175 million for LALIGA HYPERMOTION and €60 million for free-to-air and clip rights, described as a 9 per cent increase on the previous cycle.[3] On 15 September 2026 Telefónica was reported to have agreed a non-exclusive arrangement with DAZN to distribute DAZN's package of LaLiga matches for €1.65 billion, about €330 million a year, across the same five seasons, which would allow Movistar Plus+ to offer the full first division.[4] That agreement was reported on 15 September 2026 and its five-season term has not yet begun.
Since when has Movistar Plus+ existed?
The date on which the Movistar Plus+ brand was created, and the corporate history of the pay-television business that carries it, could not be established from a source that could be retrieved, and are therefore not stated. Telefónica's own corporate pages and the platform's about pages were not among the sources that could be fetched.
What is dated is its recent trading and its rights. Telefónica reported 3.943 million Movistar Plus+ subscribers at 30 June 2026, and the report described that as the platform's best figure since 2020, which places a trough in the intervening years.[6] Its current LaLiga rights run to the end of the 2026/27 season, and the award of 28 November 2025 covers the five seasons after that.[3]
Its UEFA club-competition rights are separately dated. Reporting of 20 November 2025 described a provisional award, subject to final negotiation with UEFA, under which Movistar would carry the Champions League exclusively for four seasons from 2027-28 to 2030-31, together with the Europa League, the Conference League, the Youth League and the Super Cup, at a reported €1.464 billion, or about €366 million a season against €320 million under the preceding arrangement.[5] The exclusivity described there begins in 2027-28 and does not apply to the 2026-27 season now in progress.[2]
Why does Movistar Plus+ matter in Spain's sport?
It is one of the two buyers of the domestic rights to Spain's top football division. LaLiga awarded the 2027/28 to 2031/32 audiovisual rights on 28 November 2025 to Telefónica and DAZN, at a reported €6.135 billion across all packages, with each operator taking five matches of each matchday — a change from the preceding arrangement under which Movistar held exclusive coverage on three matchdays a season.[3]
The structure of that cycle then changed again before it began. On 15 September 2026 Telefónica was reported to have agreed to distribute DAZN's package as well, non-exclusively, for €1.65 billion over the five seasons, which would put the whole of the first division on Movistar Plus+ while DAZN retains its own rights.[4] That is a report of an agreement, not a decision of the league, and its date is recent enough that it should be checked against later developments.
Beyond LaLiga it was provisionally awarded the UEFA club competitions from 2027-28 to 2030-31, subject to final negotiation with UEFA, on the reporting of 20 November 2025, and its published 2026/27 line-up spans football, basketball, tennis, cycling, handball, motorsport and other sports.[5][1] The competitions concerned are described elsewhere on this site under LaLiga, UEFA Champions League and Liga Endesa, and the general subject under broadcast rights.
References
- Movistar Plus+ — sports section listing the competitions carried. Accessed 2026-09-18.
- Movistar Plus+ — Champions League page for the 2026-27 season. Accessed 2026-09-18.
- El Desmarque — LaLiga's award of the 2027/28–2031/32 audiovisual rights, 28 November 2025. Accessed 2026-09-18.
- El Confidencial Digital — Telefónica's non-exclusive distribution agreement with DAZN, 15 September 2026. Accessed 2026-09-18.
- Crónica Global — Movistar's UEFA club competition rights from 2027-28 to 2030-31, 20 November 2025. Accessed 2026-09-18.
- El Español — Telefónica España results: Movistar Plus+ subscribers at 30 June 2026, 29 July 2026. Accessed 2026-09-18.
- Barlovento Comunicación — monthly television audience report, June 2026. Accessed 2026-09-18.