MLS match highlights come to Facebook Watch

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Major League Soccer (MLS) has agreed a deal with Facebook which will see highlights of all games from the North American soccer competition, featuring on the social media giant’s Watch streaming platform.

The 2020 campaign of MLS began on 29th February and as part of that, MLS will host a weekly Watch Party on Facebook and create official Facebook Groups for select teams around the league.

In addition, the agreement will bring archival clips, top moments in MLS history and player-centric highlights to Facebook Watch.

“Facebook’s innovative Watch Party experience is the perfect place for Major League Soccer fans around the world to exchange views and share their passion for our clubs and players,” said Chris Schlosser, MLS’s Senior Vice President for Media.

“We’re proud to collaborate with Facebook to deliver exciting game recaps and engage globally with MLS fans.”

This partnership allows supporters to stay up to date with the latest highlights by simply liking the MLS Facebook Page. Currently, based off all the league, team and player accounts on the social media platform, the MLS Facebook community exceeds more than 30 million people.

“Major League Soccer is one of the fastest growing leagues in the US, and we’re excited to help it continue to reach new fans through this partnership,” said Rob Shaw, Facebook’s Director of League and Media Sports Partnerships.

“This content will bring people together to celebrate wins, commiserate over losses and share the top plays with their friends, making it a fantastic fit for Facebook Watch.”

The MLS agreement extends Facebook Watch’s content offering. Most recently, the streaming service secured a global partnership with golf’s PGA Tour in January to distribute daily highlight packages, adding to deals with competitions such as the National Football League (NFL), the National Basketball League (NBL), UEFA and LaLiga in select markets.

Last June, Facebook revealed that 720 million monthly visitors and 140 million daily users were tuning in for at least a minute to its Watch platform, attributing that live sports content helped to boost those numbers.

However, a report by The Information at the start of 2020 claimed the company was looking to dial back on original programming and the purchase of live sports rights was in favour of licensing clips and talk shows.

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Liam Watson is the Co-Founder & Publisher of Soccerscene. He reports widely on football policy, industry matters and technology.

Avondale FC and LALIGA collaborate to focus on football excellence

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Avondale FC at the National Second Tier announcement - credit Football Australia/Brett Costello

Avondale Football Group (AFG) and LALIGA have made their arrangements official through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to enhance the game through a mutual alliance by undertaking to focus on football excellence.

Playing their home matches at Avenger Park in Parkville, Avondale FC are the current champions of NPL Victoria as well as they were recently selected alongside seven other clubs to be the foundation club for the National Second Tier which is likely to commence from 2025.

Ivan Codina, Managing Director of LALIGA for Southeast Asia, Japan, South Korea and Australia, said via press release:

“We are thrilled to embark on this exciting journey with Avondale FC to elevate football development at this crucial moment in their history in Australian professional football, taking advantage of the experience we have after more than 90 years leading professional football in Spain, and more specifically in the six years that LALIGA has been in the country.

“This MOU signifies our commitment to the football development beyond Spanish barriers through knowledge sharing and collaboration with regional partners.”

Avondale President Anthony Wardan reflected on the sides progression as a National Second Tier member, adding via press release:

“Following a historic season including recently being announced as a National Second Tier Foundation Club, we are extremely pleased to continue our growth by announcing a new partnership with LALIGA.

“LALIGA’s unparalleled expertise and extensive networks will enhance our capabilities on and off the field, nurture young Australian talent, and make a positive contribution to the growth of football in Australia.”

The goal of this partnership being through bilateral relations, the MOU will augment the flow of proficiency and mastery from LALIGA in what is the largest football ecosystem in the world implemented into the Australian club.

Both parties will work diligently towards the greater good of increasing football involvement and developing the youth programs and pathways for aspiring boys and girls across the state.

Serie A to stay on DAZN and Sky screens to 2029

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Image via Getty images

DAZN and Sky will retain the rights to broadcast live Serie A matches in Italy for the next five seasons after Italian clubs accepted bids worth at least 4.5 billion euros ($4.8 billion).

After four months of discussions, the Serie A teams convened to examine final bids from streaming services DAZN and Sky, which totalled around 900 million euros each year until the conclusion of the 2028/2029 season, barely below the existing agreement’s yearly worth.

Seventeen of the 20 clubs backed the offer but the decision drew sharp criticism from Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis.

“It’s a total defeat for Italian football, these deals will be the death of Italian football. The problem is being a borrower or an entrepreneur. The entrepreneur must know how to measure the risk area, it is more convenient but this will never implement the value of Italian football”, he stated via press release.

Serie A earns around 930 million euros every season from the sale of its TV rights in Italy under a three-year contract that expires next June, with DAZN once again taking the lion’s share. DAZN will exclusively carry seven Serie A games each week (266 out of 380 matches per season). The remaining three will be carried by DAZN and Sky (114 matches per season).

In recent months, Serie A explored the creation of a media platform to distribute matches to other TV outlets as well as the launch of a home-run live video subscription service.

Torino chairman Urbano Cairo was all for the deal claiming the league was correct to continue the partnership.

“Figures were below our initial expectations and below our current contracts, but I think we were right to continue our relationship with Sky and DAZN. Creating a Serie A TV channel now, would had meant adding further risk to a risky business he stated via press release,” he told reporters.

When some variable components tied to revenue sharing are included, the new contracts may match or even exceed the value of the present contracts and reach 1 billion euros.

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