Spanish top-flight football league LaLiga has announced the launch of a new DTC streaming service for the Chinese market.
Launched via a six-year strategic partnership with Beijing based Streamline Media Technology, LaLiga Plus will offer matches on a freemium basis via a combination of free-to-view and paid matches. The app will provide access to all 380 matches of LaLiga Santander and for the first time in China, all 462 matches and promotion play-offs of LaLiga Smartbank.
The launch makes LaLiga the first of Europe’s major football leagues to launch a DTC solution in China.
Javier Tebas, president of LaLiga, said: “Brand Dedicated Application is the future of sports broadcasting. Technology is playing an increasingly important role in the world of sport. This is a strategic agreement and a firm commitment to innovation in a country as important to us as China.”
Marco Weber, Chairman, CEO and founder of Streamline, described LaLiga Plus as “a significant game changer in the sports entertainment industry” and expressed confidence that “we will soon be able to announce partnerships with other major sports brands and IP’s.”
Sergi Torrents, LaLiga’s managing director in China, said: “LaLiga Plus is the core of our strategy in China for the next years. This is a first step of a complete ecosystem we are building to provide new and unique experiences and new products to fans. Together with Streamline, we are investing in technology, fan experience and increasing value for our brand and business.”