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Social media's rise to prominence to the point where our very lives are dictated by its trends and tics is one of the most significant social phenomena of our times. Being a platform that grants an equal footing to all members of the society in, at least, expressing their views and opinions, social media's relevance is indisputable.
In the internet age, social media has rendered even our idiot boxes recreational and with a whole world of news, advertisements, knowledge and whatnot just a fingerprint scan away, it offers a supremely convenient route to entertainment.
Now, taking advantage of this tectonic shift in preferred platforms is one of the biggest and most entertaining football leagues in the world- La Liga. Yes, this year in India, all 380 La Liga games will be telecasted live exclusively on Facebook in a move that changes the face of football coverage.
Also read: La Liga India Telecast: How to watch all the games on Facebook
But here's the kicker, all these football matches will be streamed through Facebook free of cost.
La Liga's head of digital strategy, Alfredo Bermejo told Reuters,
“We are really happy to be on a free to air service in such an important territory as the Indian subcontinent.".
“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.”
India has been growing in reputation as one of the most football frenzied nations in the world and the nation provides a market that can entice the big players at the top of the game. As such, Sony has been usurped as the rights holder in the subcontinent.
This move is also an attempt to cater to the young audience by providing them with a more handy method to follow their favourite sport.
Apart from the live telecast, Facebook will also air match previews and match highlights.
La Liga president Javier Tebas said,
“We are thrilled to team up with Facebook to bring the millions of La Liga fans in the Indian subcontinent even closer to action. La Liga sets the standard for football in the world and we are delighted that more people than ever before will have the opportunity to watch our matches live and for free through Facebook.”
Expressing his excitement in championing a 'social first' approach from one of the most popular sporting entities in the world, Facebook global live sports programming head, Peter Hutton said,
“As home to the two most-followed sports clubs on Facebook and some of the world’s most iconic footballers, La Liga has a huge global presence on our platform. Its popularity is notably visible in the Indian subcontinent, so we’re delighted to be able to serve the community of fans there with free, live La Liga matches for the next three seasons.
We see this as a great opportunity to not only bring people together around world-class football, but also help La Liga reach new audiences and grow its visibility in a key development market.”
Facebook had earlier attempted to break into the sports broadcasting market in the Indian subcontinent but their bid of $61 million to secure the broadcasting rights for the Indian Premier League failed to seal the deal. But they've only kicked on and caught the big fish!
