TV broadcasters agree three-year deal for La Liga rights

Real Madrid's coach Jose Mourinho embraces Cristiano Ronaldo as they celebrate their Spanish league first division 32nd title at Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, May 13, 2012.

MADRID (Reuters) - The dispute between broadcasters which had threatened to delay the start of the La Liga season was resolved on Friday when Canal+ and Mediapro agreed a three-year deal to share the television rights.

Spain's secretary of state for sport Miguel Cardenal oversaw the negotiations, which settled the numbers of games each company could show on their individual platforms each week.

Mediapro will continue to show one match on their free-to-air channel each week and will control the international rights for La Liga.

"The agreement...establishes a viable model for the Spanish league and presents a stable scenario for football fans for the seasons 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2014-15," Mediapro said in a statement.

"The professional soccer league (LFP), for their part, guarantee the new agreement signed by both operators."

A group of 13 first division sides had forced a meeting with the LFP on Tuesday to call for a settlement of the dispute saying that it created "a situation of serious legal insecurity", and had threatened to postpone the season's start.

The new La Liga campaign kicks off this weekend with champions Real Madrid at home to Valencia and Barcelona hosting Real Sociedad, both on Sunday.

(Reporting by Mark Elkington, editing by Patrick Johnston)