Facebook Inc. has bought exclusive live rights to show top-flight Spanish league soccer in the Indian subcontinent, as it steps up a challenge to traditional broadcasters of the world’s most popular sport.
According to Bloomberg, under the three-year agreement - its first direct deal with a major soccer league - the social media giant will carry La Liga games in eight countries including India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Maldives, Nepal, Butane and Sri Lanka, the Spanish league said in a statement.
Following the deal, those with a Facebook account in the mentioned countries are able to watch the games with no fee. Spanish top-flight league has 380 games each season.
Sony Inc. had the live rights for the past four years since 2014 for $32 million but the current contract estimated price is $100 million. Facebook wants to be a serious player in world sport to get users spending more time on its platform. Earlier this year, it hired Eurosport Chief Executive Officer Peter Hutton to help it broker worldwide live-streaming deals. Last year, Facebook bid $600 million to stream Indian cricket but lost to Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox Inc.
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