Facebook will be adding some sports to its inventory. In a deal with Univision, Facebook will live stream 46 Mexican Liga MX games. It’ll begin this Saturday with Chivas vs. Club América and will go all the way to the playoffs. All of the games will be in English and will only be available in the United States.
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In addition to Liga MX, Facebook is streaming CONCACAF Champions League games and also streamed a charity match between Everton and Manchester United. Facebook says 71% of the audience was under 35.
The Liga MX games will be available on Univision Deportes’ Facebook page as well as Facebook’s video tab. They will stream without advertising.
Facebook is searching for more original content including sports because they’re live and bring in a mass audience. But sports rights can be expensive and with most of the major sports properties locked up with the TV networks, Facebook, Twitter and even Amazon have to look to be creative to get live sports.
Twitter has signed a deal to stream NFL Thursday Night Football games as well as sublicensed several deals including from Yahoo, the NBA, and Pac-12.
Right now, it’s all about content and trying to find the right fit to get eyeballs to Facebook and for now, the service is looking to soccer to get the audience. And for Univision, it’s an opportunity to grow its English-speaking audience.
The key is how many people will go to Facebook to watch Liga MX
About Ken Fang
Ken has been covering the sports media in earnest at his own site, Fang's Bites since May 2007 and at Awful Announcing since March 2013.
He provides a unique perspective having been an award-winning radio news reporter in Providence and having worked in local television.
Fang celebrates the four Boston Red Sox World Championships in the 21st Century, but continues to be a long-suffering Cleveland Browns fan.