Mediaset España has been ordered to pay €73.2 million to the U.K.’s ITV Studios following a ruling by the Provincial Court of Madrid.
The court partially upheld an appeal filed by ITV, substantially increasing the compensation owed by Mediaset España for profits earned through what judges described as the unauthorized exploitation of the Pasapalabra format between 2012 and 2019.
Pasapalabra is the Spanish adaptation of The Alphabet Game, a format originally created in the U.K. for the BBC in the 1990s. Rights to the format later became part of ITV’s portfolio through a series of corporate acquisitions involving Action Time and Granada.
The latest ruling reinforces a 2019 decision by Spain’s Supreme Court, which ordered Telecinco — Mediaset’s Spanish network — to stop broadcasting Pasapalabra after finding that the company had violated its contractual agreements with ITV.
The show was later picked up by Antena 3, where it has aired since 2020, hosted by Roberto Leal, following years of success on Telecinco with Christian Gálvez.
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