The Chivas de Guadalajara are accused of becoming a “bourgeois” team after setting high prices for fans to watch live games exclusively on the internet.

It’s been two months since Jorge Vergara, the owners of Mexico’s most popular soccer team, cancelled his agreement with Televisa to televise their games and announced he was starting his own TV channel, not only to show live games but also offer other Chivas related content.

The internet package will cost subscribers 2,750 pesos a year to include all 17 home games (in both the Apertura and Clausura seasons) at the city’s Omnilife Stadium.  Individual live games may be purchased on a PPV model, from 150 pesos per game, up to the Clasico “derby” against rivals America for 500 pesos.  A cheaper option is to watch the games with a two-hour delay for 50 pesos a month.

Also for 50 pesos a month, subscribers can obtain Chivas content such as interviews with players and other team news.   The prices for just 17 games compare unfavorably with the three major sports in the United States that offer hundreds of live games. The NBA League Pass costs 2,799 pesos each season,  MLB.tv 2,019 pesos and NFL Games Pass 2,800 pesos.

Chivas had rejected Televisa’s previous contract offer of $US14 million. Some business analysts believe abandoning televised broadcasts in favor of internet-only access to games was a risky move, given the lack of wifi in many parts of the country and often patchy connections. 

 Defending prices that one sports newspaper last week called “bourgeois,”Chivas CEO Jose Luis Higuera said fans demand “a winning team” and that can only be achieved if they realize that “nothing is free.”