Facebook won a major content deal to broadcast Spain’s top national football competition across the Indian subcontinent for free, giving the social media giant a big boost in reach across the region.
The
deal will see Facebook provide a free-to-air stream to La Liga
content, Spain’s top-tier football league, over the next three
seasons in India, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka,
Bhutan, Nepal and the Maldives.
Sony
had previously held live screening rights for La Liga, paying a
reported $32 million between 2014 and 2018. Details of Facebook’s
deal have not been announced, but the agreement notably gives the
company a bigger presence in the subcontinent and, particularly, in
India where it has around 270 million users Financial
Times (FT)
stated.
Counterpoint
Research analyst Neil Shah told FT a
huge drop in mobile data prices in India, instigated by the entry of
Reliance Jio in 2016, enabled millions of people in the country
to watch sport and other live broadcasts on mobile devices.
“The
biggest aim for Facebook is for people to spend more time on it, to
get a bigger share of users’ digital life,” he added. “So
whatever they can offer in terms of content to create stickiness,
that is useful.”
Facebook
will show all 380 La Liga matches a season, initially without
advertising, but that could change in the future.
The
company attempted to boost its content offering in recent years and
successfully won rights to screen Major League Baseball in the US, as
well as reaching a deal to show some La Liga and Serie A football
matches in the UK.
This
year, Amazon also won the rights to screen 60 English Premier League
games over three years on its platform, as technology groups take the
fight to traditional TV and cable players.
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