LYON, France: Social network Facebook has secured rights to broadcast certain Champions League live matches as well as the Super Cup in Spanish-speaking Latin American territories on a free-to-air basis over the next three seasons, UEFA announced Wednesday.
Facebook has secured the exclusive free-to-air rights to 32 live matches each season, including the final and UEFA Super Cup. The matches will be available on the UEFA Champions League Facebook Page. Wednesday highlights and magazine programmes will also be shared each match-week on Facebook.
The partnership kicked off on Wednesday with the UEFA Super Cup, where Europa League champions Atletico Madrid got the better of bitter rivals and Champions League title holders Real Madrid 4-2.
Guy-Laurent Epstein, UEFA Events SA director of Marketing said: “We are delighted to welcome Facebook to the UEFA family of media partners. As the largest online social media platform globally, Facebook will ensure wide-ranging free-to-air coverage of the world’s most prestigious club competition. We look forward to the launch of this new partnership that will ensure the large community of local football fans is reached in a highly innovative and accessible manner.”
Peter Hutton, Facebook head of Global Live Sports Programming, said: “We’re proud to be the exclusive free-to-air home for UEFA Champions League matches across Latin America for the next three years. This world-renowned competition exemplifies how sports can connect communities, so we look forward to helping fans watch these live matches together and are committed to working closely with our great partners at UEFA to deliver an innovative viewing experience.”
The announcement came a day after Facebook announced a similar deal with Spain’s LaLiga for the Indian Subcontinent.
It also comes as uncertainty surrounds the broadcast of Champions League matches in Brazil, South America’s biggest television market. The current rights holder Esporte Interactivo said last week it would no longer be broadcasting Champions League games on its cable channel but is shifting them to two other non-sports channels owned by the company, Reuters reports.
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