Facebook Signs Deal to Air La Liga Matches for Free in India and Other Asian Countries
Aug. 14, 2018However, this is not a global broadcast deal, as Facebook has only won the rights to air the La Liga matches in a few countries in the Indian subcontinent, which include India, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Maldives, Sri Lanka and Pakistan.
“We are really happy to be on a free to air service in such an important territory as the Indian sub-continent. One of our goals for the last two years has been to offer content to the widest audience possible, so partnering with free platforms like Facebook, which has 270 million users in India, is key to us”, La Liga’s Head of Digital Strategy, Alfredo Bermejo was quoted as saying byReuters. Financial details of the agreement have not been disclosed, however, it seems that this is not a long-term deal.
The best part is that the La Liga games will initially be aired without any adverts in the Indian subcontinent, however, that might change in the future as Facebook is experimenting with the idea of advertisements on live content and might soon bring the same to its La Liga coverage.
“This is one deal, it’s not something that is a big threat to the broadcast world. We have rights to work with broadcasters and we may bring in partners to make sure the experience is right. What’s clear about this is that 380 games will be available on Facebook, then we’ll keep our options open as to how we spread that content out so people can see it in as many ways as possible”,said Peter Hutton, Facebook’s Director of Global Live Sports.
