LaLiga signs a 3-year deal with Viacom as Facebook deal ends
LaLiga enters into a broadcasting partnership with Viacom 18 for the next three years. After airing the tournament free of charge on popular social media network, Facebook, The program will now be broadcasted on youth channel MTV along with some regional channels. One can even catch the live stream on Voot and Jio platforms.
Football’s popularity has risen over the past decade. The 91st season of Laliga is one of the most viewed tournaments across the world. One can witness Europe’s finest talents and football clubs through this tournament, which includes Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, Atletico among others.
After airing the games for 3 years on Facebook, resorting back to traditional media is challenging and may affect the viewership of the show. Talking about the partnership Oscar Mayo, Executive Director, LaLiga said, “We are excited to partner with Viacom18 (MTV India) and further bolster the LaLiga fandom to an ever-growing football fan base in India. Having set one of the highest standards of football globally and India gaining tremendous momentum, we are confident that we will reach and engage with the youthful audience that MTV as a destination appeals to.”
Jose Antonio Cachaza, the managing director of La Liga India, admits in an interview that Facebook was no longer interested in investing in sports rights. He further adds, “I will never say that our experience with Facebook was a bad experience, it was a totally different experience. It is true that a small proportion of our fans never understood not having the matches accessible through the traditional channels.”
“But if we had to do it again, we’ll do it again.”
Soccer jostles with other sports for a share of the space left after cricket in India, which has a population of 1.3 billion, and Cachaza was confident that La Liga had the potential to grow.
“It’s just a matter of being in the market, work well with the market, talk to the fans, understand the fans and the revenue will end up coming,” he added. “The room for growth of sport business in India in terms of revenue is there, most likely we’ll keep growing.”
