FC Barcelona to hire 14 Barça TV workers, reaching last-minute deal

FC Barcelona will hire 14 workers from Barça TV, the club's television, and will "substantially" improve the compensation for those dismissed, as a deal reached last-minute between the staff, the team, and telecommunications company Telefónica, reads.

The agreement was made on Thursday night, hours before the official negotiation period ended, as on Friday, Barça TV ends transmissions. The announcement came hours after the staff threatened to sue the club and Telefónica for a lack of a deal to terminate their employment status.

Blaugrana workers said the club had not been involved in the negotiation process.

The new deal will see 14 current workers become staff of the Barça Produccions team and will continue to be linked to FCB creating audiovisual content and being part of the club's communications department.

Most of the workers voted in favor of the deal, which will also substantially improve the compensation package for those that will not continue working for FC Barcelona. The channel's closing will leave 80 people out of work, some of whom have been linked to the club for twenty years.

According to the lawyer of the Ronda Collective, Natxo Parra, the annual cost of the staff was €3.6 million, an "absolutely tiny expense" for Barça, which had a revenue of €1.017 billion in the 2021-2022 season.

"If Barça is more than a club, it should also be because of these issues," Parra said.

Before the deal was announced, Parra had warned that the productions team would be down to a reduced thirteen people, which he considered a difficult task. 

"It is impossible to think that communication and streaming can be sustained with thirteen people," Parra said.