La Liga 2, Spain’s second division soccer league, has started live streaming all of its matches for free on YouTube as part of a global partnership. The games are streaming in English commentary in 150 markets across Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas.
Last Friday’s match between Cadiz FC and Granada FC kicked off the international streaming deal, which will broadcast all matches per week until at least the end of the current season. The league’s official YouTube channel will host the games, as well as a 50-minute highlights program according to The Associated Press. In Spain, matches will continue to be shown only on local television where the league has TV rights agreements in place.
“The way we consume live sports is being changed by a new generation of online broadcasters, and we are committed to using such channels to extend the appeal of our competitions,” said Melcior Soler, the director of La Liga’s audiovisual department.
La Liga’s second division consists of 22 clubs including Deportivo La Coruna, Real Zaragoza and Malaga. The partnership with YouTube comes a year and a half after La Liga announced a deal with Facebook to stream first-division matches for free in India.
SportTechie Takeaway
YouTube continues to build an expansive portfolio of sponsorship rights to live soccer. In addition to La Liga 2, the Google-owned video platform also streams live matches from Brazil’s top soccer league and has deals with both the Seattle Sounders and LAFC.