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Tag: LaLiga

  • Valencia CF and PUMA transform the city’s bus shelters into replicas of Mestalla

    Valencia CF and PUMA transform the city’s bus shelters into replicas of Mestalla

    Mumbai: Thanks to one of the most innovative marketing campaigns of the summer, residents of the city of Valencia have become very aware of the launch of the new Valencia CF home and away kits for the 2023/24 LALIGA EA SPORTS season. The club collaborated with the city and with Puma, its official kit supplier, to transform a number of bus stops and to make them Mestalla-themed.

    The walls and roofs of the selected bus shelters were decorated to make these bus stops look and feel like the stands of Mestalla, complete with seats like the ones in the stadium’s stands. The 2023/24 Valencia CF kits were also displayed at these bus stops, with lights even highlighting the new designs at nighttime.

    The initiative came about thanks to PUMA’s close collaboration with the club. As the kit manufacturer explained: “Each season’s launch of the new Valencia CF kits is planned with several objectives in mind: to present the new kits to Valencia CF fans in an original, different and eye-catching way, connecting sentimentally and emotionally; to maximise the visibility of these kits with actions that have great repercussion and impact at a local level, trying to integrate the fans in some way into that experience so that they become part of it; and to get involved with the club, the city, its people and its traditions and customs. We believe that the sum of all these points helps to improve the perception of the new kits and increase the willingness to acquire them.”

    The fans of the club were definitely made to feel involved, while men’s team player Thierry Rendall and women’s team player Marta Carro also visited one of the Valencia CF-themed bus shelters to enjoy the unique experience. Discussing the initiative, Thierry Rendall said: “I think it’s a very good idea, as the fans can feel like they’re at Mestalla, even inside the dressing room as if they were players.”

    In the words of the club: “Bringing Valencia CF out of the stadium with this marketing campaign and into moments in our fans’ daily lives, such as waiting for the bus or taking a walk through the city centre and finding a representation of Mestalla, is something that reinforces our emotional connection with the fans. It’s a shot of identification.”

    The club continued: “The same reaction that we saw in Thierry Rendall and Marta Carro when they saw the themed bus stops is what we’ve noticed in our fans and also in the tourists who visit Valencia at this time of year. They can enjoy an exciting and different experience while discovering all the secrets of our jerseys, which are on display at the bus stops. The action has been very well received in the media, giving great exposure to the club and PUMA, as well as among our fans.”

    Valencia CF and PUMA: A partnership based on constant collaboration

    This is simply the latest example of Valencia CF and PUMA working together to ensure fans of Los Che know about and are excited about the arrival of the new kit. In previous years, they’ve organised other street marketing campaigns, such as placing giant replica shirts around the city or organising photo machines with QR codes to allow fans to download an image of themselves wearing the new shirt. Last season, they even worked together on a New York streetstyle photo shoot in front of some of the most iconic landmarks of the Big Apple, making an impact in that international market.

    On the partnership, the club said: “Every year, together with PUMA, we carry out actions that usually involve the DNA and life of the city to present our shirts. This season they have very strong narratives: a tribute to the Mediterranean lifestyle (Home Kit); a concept of design, creativity and the future projection of our city (Away Kit); and a nod to the streets of the city of Valencia with a representation of the neighbourhood that surrounds Mestalla (Third Kit). We feel that the street marketing campaign of Valencia CF and PUMA is more and more appreciated each year, achieving greater identification from our fans.”

    It’s not just in summer at the time of the kit launch that the marketing departments of Valencia CF and PUMA work together. “The connection and work with PUMA is daily, so that the garments made for the club, the stores and all the merchandising breathe the VCF identity,” the club’s marketing and commercial director Jorge García pointed out.

    The club added: “Our way of working is based on fortnightly meetings, and thanks to a consolidated dynamic between both teams. Working with technical brands on a long-term basis – we’ve been with PUMA for five seasons and are building a great relationship – allows clubs to share with them the club values and culture, which leads to fans perceiving the stores as spaces where the shopping experience is very emotional.”

    By converting daily spaces such as bus stops into another source of pride for Valencia CF supporters, the club has certainly made an emotional impact with its fanbase with this year’s kit launch.

  • We are looking to broadbase appeal of LaLiga beyond key pockets: Viacom18’s Siddharth Sharma

    We are looking to broadbase appeal of LaLiga beyond key pockets: Viacom18’s Siddharth Sharma

    Mumbai: Last year, Viacom18 inked a deal with the Spanish football league, LaLiga. The new season kicked off last month. In an interaction with Indiantelevision.com, Viacom18 Sports head of content, TV and digital Siddharth Sharma said that the aim is to broadbase the appeal of LaLiga beyond the key pockets of Goa, Kerala and West Bengal.

    “Sports18 is the youngest sports network in the country. We have energy, enthusiasm and passion, and that is something that we also share with our partners like La Liga. It is undoubtedly one of the most admired and followed leagues in the world due to the track record that it has.”

    He added, “Football in the country has grown by 33 per cent over the three years from 2018–2021. La Liga has been an important contributor to that. Through our network, LaLiga reached over nine million fans, and we want to build on this further with the launch of our dedicated sports channel, Sports18. It will be our endeavour to take the league to a larger fan base across the country through our platforms. Sports18 is the primary destination for LaLiga. The aim is to give viewers the best possible viewing experience. Our intention is to get the fans excited and keep them excited. Our aim is to expand and make our sports portfolio robust, and LaLiga plays an important role in that.” 

    This also means going beyond the array of live football that happens. It is about shows like Goal’D. That is a take on football leagues and the movers and shakers.

    LaLiga, he said, has been one of the most giving partners that the broadcaster has had. They give access to footage of players. He explained that LaLiga also does cool technical stuff, which is something that Sports18 is able to leverage.

    Broadbasing football is something that the broadcaster is passionate about, he added, “We have to go beyond the key pockets. That is our focus. While we will address the core market that exists in terms of Kerala, West Bengal, Goa, and the Northeast, there is an attempt to broadbase football consumption across other markets that have a lot of headroom for growth.”

    “We will, in our endeavour to teach out to these markets, do a lot of work there with La Liga to widen the funnel there and get sports fans to engage with football. We educate them about the sport, about football players, and get them involved in the various levels of storytelling that we have to do. LaLiga is the frontrunner in our efforts to broadbase the sport due to the access that they give us to their immense library and the media hub that they have,” he said in response to a question from Indiantelevision.com.

    Talking about non-live content, he said it is a very important component. During live action, there is action, but non-live shoulder programming helps serve the core fan cohorts. “We can give them a behind-the-scenes look, nuanced approaches to set pieces of games that happen, the technical and strategic play that happens within a match. We dissect, analyse it and bring it to the viewers because it offers more time, the ability to look at these instances in a game and present them to fans. It is an immense opportunity, and we take a lot of pride in non-live programming because that takes us closer to the fans. We would also not be averse to giving fans a voice through this programming. We are having discussions with LaLiga on how to take this forward.”

    He said that the Fifa World Cup that the broadcaster will air later in the year is a milestone event in the broadcaster’s commitment to the sport. “We are looking to offer a differentiated experience. There will be a paradigm shift in terms of how the event is presented. We will engage our core viewers as well as intenders who we want to turn into core viewers. We will offer an unparalleled experience on Fifa that has never been seen in the country. The fan has to be the fulcrum of everything that we do. The fan has to be at the centre of everything that we do. The fan has converted to the sport or the team or the league. Fans have different identities, associations with the game. It is incumbent on us to serve them in the best possible manner.” 

    He also noted that core fans, non-core fans, and intenders watch football matches differently. The aim is to excite these audiences sitting at various ends of the viewership spectrum. The aim is to keep the core fan base intact and to move the intenders towards the core and to bring the floaters, or light viewers, into the middle of the value chain. “That is the idea,” he told Indiantelevision.com.

    He stated that the broadcaster’s goal with LaLiga and other soccer properties is to provide a 360-degree experience that allows fans to engage with the sport in the way that they want. In terms of having football content beyond English for LaLiga, he said that other languages like Hindi, Bangla, and Malayalam will play a role in the journey. Language commentary will be offered. For LaLiga, it is looking at putting a few key matches like El Classico next month on Sports18 Khel, the FTA channel. This, he said, accords a lot of headroom because that is an underserved audience.

    The other football properties the broadcaster has deals with for LaLiga and the Fifa World Cup 2022 are Serie A and Ligue 1. It also airs the local tournament, the Durand Cup. “It is the oldest football league in Asia. Our announcement contributes to widening the funnel of the football fan. The level of football and the level of sportsmanship have gone up tremendously. But there is a lot of scope for growth that we are working towards. There is a sizable interest in the Durand Cup that we are seeing.”

    One of the things that LaLiga India MD Jose Antonio Cachaza pointed out was that many matches in La Liga have Asia and India-friendly timings. That is not the case with some of the other football properties, like the Uefa Champions League, where matches sometimes start at 1:30 am. He added that LaLiga has seen a healthy increase in broadcast rights revenue globally. It earns around 900 million euros a year from global broadcast rights.

    “That is because we provide an asset that broadcasters can exploit all year around. International revenue has been steadily growing. In any country, our aim is to be the second most popular league, behind the local league. In India, that means being second after the ISL.” One of LaLiga’s aims globally is to have a better digital offering.

    The ElClasico, which pits FC Barcelona and Real Madrid in the most high-profile club match in world football, returns on the weekend of 15 October, while the Seville, Barcelona, and Basque derbies follow in November, December, and January, respectively.

    Games such as these, Cachaza explained, are a big factor in why LaLiga is the most followed domestic football league on social media, with over 160 million fans all over the world enjoying LaLiga content in 20 different languages across 17 different platforms. But LaLiga is also leading the way in digital outreach for international fans with Play LaLiga. This LaLiga claims the only self-produced TikTok show by a European league; the creation of the first-ever mini-app on Alipay for Chinese fans; and the launch in Indonesia and Thailand of LaLiga Pass, a self-developed OTT offering all LaLiga Santander and LaLiga SmartBank matches for fans on demand, among many other initiatives.

    The 2022/23 season kick-off also marks a crucial moment for LaLiga off the pitch. Clubs across LaLiga Santander and LaLiga SmartBank are looking to take a giant step forward in their development and growth thanks to Boost LaLiga, a large-scale two billion euro investment project made possible by LaLiga’s agreement with investment fund CVC in December 2021. Clubs are already working across the board on ambitious development plans in areas such as strategy and business, infrastructure, international, brand and product development, digitalisation, and tech innovation, among others.

    Meanwhile, LaLiga Tech, the LaLiga subsidiary which offers technological and innovative solutions, continues to expand its business in over 50 countries with companies from multiple industries, including broadcasters, federations, and leagues. LaLiga Tech aims to transform the sports and entertainment sector with the design and implementation of OTT services, applications, games, websites, fan engagement, the improvement and protection of content, and competition management. World Padel Tour, Millicom, Sky Mexico, and MotoGP rights holders Dorna are just a few of the organisations that have already adopted LaLiga Tech’s tech solutions to digitise their operations. 

    Cachaza also mentioned the fact that LaLiga and Galaxy Racer (GXR), the Dubai-based transmedia multinational, have signed a Letter of Intent paving the way for the formation of a 15-year JV. The aim is to transform the sports league’s brand presence in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and the Indian subcontinent.

    GXR, founded in 2019 by Group CEO Paul Roy, is the largest esports, gaming, and lifestyle organisation in the world with a presence in the Mena region, North America, Southeast Asia, South Asia, and Europe. The JV positions GXR as LaLiga’s local partner in the MENA market and the Indian subcontinent, setting up a first in the world of sports rights in the territories which is projected to yield over three billion euros in revenue. Following the signing of the letter of intent, the parties entered an exclusive period to conclude contract details and the establishment of the JV. As agreed in the letter of intent, LaLiga and GXR will each hold a 50 per cent stake in the new JV. The JV will offer LaLiga new avenues and opportunities to increase brand presence across a key target region that is one of the youngest on the planet, with more than 1.3 billion people aged under 30. Furthermore, the joint venture will serve as the media rights agency for broadcast and media rights in Mena and the Indian subcontinent. 

    The deal provides LaLiga with a pathway to share its intellectual property (IP) through a local partner already offering considerable market reach—GXR has over 500 million followers worldwide—and a platform for growth that leverages expertise in six key verticals: licensing, content creation, esports, influencer and talent management, merchandising, and music.

  • MTV deepens LaLiga fandom in India

    MTV deepens LaLiga fandom in India

    Mumbai: The new season of LaLiga Santander has kicked off on 14 August with Valencia CF vs Getafe CF, the first of 380 fixtures through a ten-month campaign. This season’s global partners include title sponsor Santandar and official partners Puma, EA Sports FIFA 2021, Microsoft, Budweiser, BKT Tyres, Livescore, and Dream11. 

    The current season of LaLiga will be broadcasted on the youth channel MTV and streaming platform Voot Select. The league has garnered three times reach on the channel in the opening weeks vis a vis the previous season, according to Viacom18. The broadcaster also found increasing fandom of LaLiga on MTV with 38 per cent of the viewership for the matches coming from rural India and over 51 per cent viewership from urban cities.

    MTV relaunched LaLiga on Indian television with a quirky campaign that promised ‘Zero Masala, Pure Football’. The innovative campaign, which includes quirky films and engagement with football fan groups across India, is making an enormous impact on social media. The campaign has delivered 38 million reaches and 50 million impressions.

    Colombian Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Camilo penned the official song for the season.

    Notably, this season of LaLiga is missing football superstar Lionel Messi who left the club FC Barcelona a month ago to join Paris Saint-Germain (PSG). The league will showcase a host of exciting new signings like David Alaba, Memphis Depay, Sergio Aguero and Rodrigo de Paul as well as young talent like Pedri, Frenkie de Jong, Joao Felix, Diego Lainez, Alexander Isak, Vinicius Jr. Fans will also watch Karim Benzema, Antoine Griezmann, Luis Suarez and Jan Oblak in action.

    The upcoming games include the historic Basque (October), Barcelona (November), Seville (November), Valencia (December), and Madrid (December) derbies scheduled for the coming months. ElClasico, the clash which pits Real Madrid and FC Barcelona in the most-watched club match in world football, returns on the weekend of 24 October.

    “The past year showed us the kind of emotional connection football fans have with the beautiful game. As the world slowly starts to heal and go back to normal, the new season of LaLiga returns, with the fans finally reuniting with their favourite sport,” said LaLiga, managing director – India, Jose Antonio Cachaza. “The energy is in the air, especially in India, with this new partnership with Viacom18. We are looking forward to building an even deeper connection with our audience in this country, which has shown its profound bond with the sport time and again.”

    “We are glad to have partnered with the LaLiga team to bring one of the world’s most iconic football leagues for our viewers in India and the subcontinent,” said Viacom18, business head – youth, music and English entertainment, Anshul Ailawadi. “Starting with the season’s first match, we have witnessed viewers’ passion and we are excited to see the fandom unfold.   The response we have received so far has been phenomenal and we are certain that we will make football a much loved and followed sport in India through our partnership with LaLiga.”

    This season also sees the return of fans to LaLiga stadiums across Spain. Currently, 40 per cent of the stadium capacity may be occupied.

  • Viacom18 partners with LaLiga, MTV India to exclusively air the Spanish league in India

    Viacom18 partners with LaLiga, MTV India to exclusively air the Spanish league in India

    New Delhi: Viacom18 Media’s flagship youth brand MTV has teamed up with LaLiga to bring the Spanish Football League exclusively to the Indian subcontinent for the next three years. The exclusive partnership will give the network linear and digital rights across the Indian subcontinent.

    Enabled and supported by Rise Worldwide, LaLiga will air exclusively on MTV in India, along with select national and regional network channels and live-streamed on Voot & Jio platforms, the network announced on Monday.

    Consumption and following of football in India have consistently increased over the past decade, especially amongst the youth. Currently in its 91st season, the iconic league is one of the most followed football leagues across the world and is home to Europe’s finest talent and football clubs including Atlético Madrid, Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, amongst others.

    MTV is a popular destination for youth entertainment and content in India with a strong affinity with its young-at-heart viewers. Given the following that Football currently enjoys in India, Viacom18 and MTV are committed to building a wholesome entertainment-driven ecosystem centred around LaLiga, in a bid to further augment the fandom of the game, said the media conglomerate in a statement.

    Speaking about the association LaLiga, executive director, Oscar Mayo said, “We are excited to partner with Viacom18 (MTV India) and further bolster the LaLiga fandom to an ever-growing football fan base in India. Having set one of the highest standards of football globally and India gaining tremendous momentum, we are confident that we will reach and engage with the youthful audience that MTV as a destination appeals to.”

    Speaking about LaLiga on MTV, business head – Youth, Music and English Entertainment, Anshul Ailawadi said, “We at MTV have always known that football enjoys a groundswell of support amongst young-at-heart Indians. The LaLiga in particular, is a cultural phenomenon all over the World. When the folks from RISE Worldwide introduced us to the LaLiga team, we realized that this was a partnership waiting to happen – the vision was common, the vibes were good, and we quickly put pen to paper.”

    LaLiga will commence on 13 August and will see Viacom18 put the network’s might behind building reach and resonance for the league amongst Indian viewers. Viacom18 will connect with the football fans through a massive marketing and communications campaign, further building the fandom and outreach for LaLiga in India.

    “MTV’s extensive social media and digital clout will ensure that LaLiga engages fans through a multi-platform approach, potentially making football a part of dinner-table conversations across Indian homes and further widen MTV and Viacom18’s offering to its viewers,” said the channel.

  • Huge decrease in levels of streaming piracy seen in Malaysia over last 12 months

    Huge decrease in levels of streaming piracy seen in Malaysia over last 12 months

    KUALA LUMPUR: A new study of the online content viewing behaviour of Malaysian consumers, has found a massive 64 per cent decrease in consumers accessing piracy websites over the past 12 months. The survey commissioned by the Asia Video Industry Association’s Coalition Against Piracy (CAP) and conducted by YouGov, found that 22 per cent of online consumers currently use piracy streaming websites or torrent sites to view pirated content, substantially less than the 61per cent from a similar survey conducted in August 2019. The YouGov survey also found a 61 per cent reduction in the number of consumers who use an illicit streaming device (ISD) when compared to the August 2019 survey. 

    More than half (55 per cent) of online consumers had noticed that a piracy service had been blocked by the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs (MDTCA). This would appear to have had an impact on consumer attitudes towards piracy, with 49 per cent stating that they no longer accessed piracy services and 40 per cent stating that they now rarely accessed piracy services as a result of not being able to access blocked piracy sites. 11 per cent of consumers said it made no difference to their viewing habits. 

    TVB International general manager Desmond Chan said: “We are encouraged by the efforts of MDTCA in fighting online piracy with their site-blocking campaign. Malaysia is an important market to our content distribution business. TVB’s programmes are popular in Malaysia and have always been the targets for piracy. The swift anti-piracy measures provided by MDTCA will foster a business environment in which we will continue investing.” 

    LaLiga global audiovisual director Melcior Soler said: "This substantial reduction in online piracy in Malaysia is a sign of the success of the actions undertaken by the MDTCA. Piracy only benefits the criminal organisations who operate the websites and illicit applications and harms society as a whole, especially those who work every day to generate content and entertainment for everyone. LaLiga will continue to fight against the problem of online piracy.” 

    The continual site blocking has had an impact on consumers viewing habits who are now more likely to access legal content services. 20 per cent of consumers who said they were aware of the government blocking piracy websites and illicit application domains, have since subscribed to a paid streaming service; 15 per cent said they now spend more time viewing free (AVOD) local streaming services; and 65 per cent now predominantly watch free (AVOD) international streaming services. 

    AVIA’s Coalition Against Piracy (CAP) general manager Neil Gane said: “We applaud the MDTCA for disrupting piracy website networks which are being monetised by crime syndicates. Consumers who subscribe to illicit IPTV services or access piracy streaming sites are wasting their time and money when the channels and websites stop working. Piracy services do not come with a ‘service guarantee’, no matter what their ‘sales pitch’ may claim.” 

    When asked about the negative consequences of online piracy, consumers placed funding crime groups (57%) , loss of jobs in the creative industry (52%) and malware risks (42%) as their top three concerns. 

  • LaLiga, Facebook to launch special series #BackToWin until Spanish League returns

    LaLiga, Facebook to launch special series #BackToWin until Spanish League returns

    MUMBAI: LaLiga and Facebook has announced the return of the Spanish football league by launching a special series called #BacktoWin, episodes of which will be shown once a week on LaLiga’s Facebook page until the competition returns.

    This show will reveal the major news stories from across LaLiga, including the umbrella strategy behind the return of LaLiga Santander and LaLiga SmartBank, kick-off times and the new audio-visual broadcast features set to be rolled out between now and the end of the current campaign.

    The weekly, 30-minute episodes of #BacktoWin will be aired until Spanish league resumes. LaLiga president Javier Tebas will feature in the first episode, scheduled on 20 May at 8 pm. 

    Each episode will see a leading figure from LaLiga and will involve the participation of several LaLiga Santander and LaLiga SmartBank players. They will share their experiences of the quarantine period and their expectations when the competition starts running again.

    Football-related content focusing on the return to action will dominate this new show. Viewers set to be entertained with fascinating stats and storylines such as the race to be crowned LaLiga’s top scorer at the end of the season and the latest news along with the new audiovisual features. LaLiga ambassadors will also be seen taking part in a football shirt challenge, competing with each other to see how many shirts they can wear in a minute.

    #BacktoWin is a show for all LaLiga fans around the world and will be available on Facebook exclusively in the Indian subcontinent. Fans will also be able to catch the episodes on 24-hour channel LaLigaTV, which is available in a number of countries across the world.

    LaLiga India managing director Jose Antonio Cachaza says, “Through this initiative, we will bring exciting and engaging football-related content to the fans. #BackToWin is the slogan launched by LaLiga ahead of the return of league competition. It highlights the real victory in the return of football is the chance for everyone to rediscover the passion and values of the game.”

    “The programme will also represent a before and after in LaLiga history. We hope that the show will further expand our fan base to a much larger and diverse audience,” adds Cachaza.

  • LaLiga launches special programmes for football fans in India on Facebook

    LaLiga launches special programmes for football fans in India on Facebook

    Mumbai: LaLiga launched exclusive programmes ‘LaLiga StayAtHome’, ‘LaLiga Nations’ and ‘LaLiga Clubs’ for football fans in the Indian subcontinent on LaLiga’s Facebook page. Through these programmes, LaLiga aims to highlight the best of the league beyond football to help strengthen the fan base and connect with newer audiences despite the ongoing postponement of the competition.

    ‘LaLiga StayAtHome’ will feature once every week for 26 minutes on LaLiga’s official Facebook page. The first episode will feature sports personalities such as Quique Setien (Barça coach), Carlos Bacca (Villarreal striker), Sergi Gomez (Sevilla defender), Alex Moreno (Real Betis left-back), Eduardo Zubiri (Osasuna nutritionist), engage and inspire fans about how they are living through the lockdown and what precautions are they taking and ensuring to maintain their fitness routines and diet.

    ‘LaLiga Nations’ will be aired over the course of 10 weeks with one episode each week of 26 minutes. This initiative will showcase the importance and impact of present and past football players of different nationalities have had on LaLiga and Spanish football as a whole.

    The first episode will have Di Stefano, Maradona, Messi from Argentina, the country that has contributed most players to LaLiga, followed by players from the United Kingdom, Brazil and other countries in the following episodes.

    ‘LaLiga Clubs’ segment will showcase the history of 20 Spanish clubs within their cities, and the connection between the cities, the teams and their people. It will outline the significance of each club, their fans sense of belonging, their importance in Spanish football and their uniqueness. This programme will be aired fortnightly and will have six episodes of 26-minute each.

    LaLiga India managing director Jose Antonio Cachaza, said: “It is our constant effort to bring engaging and exciting content closer to fans, and never has it been so important for us to engage with our fans in newer ways. In this difficult situation, football fans will be able to remain close to their idols and learn more about their favourite players, their clubs, their cities, and their history.”

    “Through these programming initiatives, we aim to showcase that LaLiga is much more than the fixtures and highlights the story of the land, club, and players which make LaLiga the best League in the world. We hope that these initiatives will further expand our fan base to a much larger and diverse audience and help us spread the joy of football,” Cachaza adds.

    In February 2020, LaLiga along with Facebook has profiled all 20 LaLiga Santander clubs through the “Behind the Goals” series. The weekly series has taken fans through the history of the club, players, titles and trophies, the stadium and more about the lifestyle and culture in the region.

  • LaLiga launches first-ever campaign with Rohit Sharma as ambassador in India

    LaLiga launches first-ever campaign with Rohit Sharma as ambassador in India

    MUMBAI: LaLiga, one of the most popular football leagues in the world, has launched an on-air campaign to promote the Spanish league in India with its brand ambassador, Rohit Sharma, vice-captain of India cricket in T20 and ODI format. The campaign has been launched to take the brand and the sport to a wider audience base in the country.

    The 55-second campaign film features one of the batting greats of the modern era and LaLiga’s face in India, Rohit Sharma. He takes viewers through what LaLiga truly stands for: discipline, pride, precision and passion and talks about how “It’s not Football, it’s LaLiga.”

    Conceptualised and produced by India On Track, the video ends with details about the broadcast destination for LaLiga in India – Facebook Watch. The campaign will have a 360 degree rollout across various platforms. 

    LaLiga India’s managing director, Jose Antonio Cachaza, said: “We have managed to carve a space for ourselves in the hearts of millions of football fans in India. We have also learned about the passion this country has for premium international sporting content and we have launched this campaign to take LaLiga closer to millions more. We have the perfect combination, with great content, an icon like Rohit Sharma as our ambassador and a strong broadcast partner like Facebook.”

    LaLiga India’s brand ambassador Rohit Sharma, said, “As an athlete, I know that sports is not only about technique but also, passion, adrenaline, temperament, strategy and character. I believe football tests all of these attributes in an individual and whether you are playing or watching the sport, you tend to feel it running inside you.”

    “I am extremely excited by this campaign as it helped me connect with LaLiga fans not only as a sportsperson but also as one of them. I believe that LaLiga drives you to play the sport and there can be no better testimony to a legendary league than this,” added Sharma, who is exclusively managed by IMG Reliance’s talent management vertical.

    The launch of a video campaign is expected to increase knowledge among sports and football enthusiasts across the nation about the top-tier league and its work in the country.

    LaLiga has undertaken several projects to understand the audience and the market better and to take the league closer to fans in the region. Through initiatives like bringing a LaLiga club, Girona FC to India, landmark broadcast partnership with Facebook to present all matches at no cost to fans, the launch of LaLiga Football Schools to impact the sport at a grassroots level.

    It has also associated with Indian brands like BKT and Dream11 along with bringing onboard the first-ever non-football brand ambassador, Rohit Sharma, LaLiga has grown its fan base significantly in the country. 

  • CONTENT HUB: How LaLiga tackles audiovisual piracy through technology and collaboration

    CONTENT HUB: How LaLiga tackles audiovisual piracy through technology and collaboration

    MUMBAI: A significant effort to fight against audiovisual piracy has been made by LaLiga over the past five years. The league’s Technological Protection of Content department works nationally and internationally to develop the latest digital innovations in order to give LaLiga an edge in this battle. Having become a worldwide leader in the movement against piracy, these tools and digital services are helping LaLiga and other rights holders to assist with detection, analysis and reporting.

    Given that Spain’s professional football industry led to the creation of around 185,000 jobs and generates around 15.688 billion euros for the Spanish economy, based on data from the 2016/17 season, it’s clear that the illegal broadcasting of LaLiga matches is harmful to the Spanish economy as a whole. With so many people relying on Spanish football for their livelihoods it is vitally important that LaLiga protects this industry.

    With more than 360,000 videos having been reported, 97.4% of which were taken down on social media sites, LaLiga is making advances against the illegal broadcast of its content online. To detect this content there is a focus on finding certain social media accounts and mobile apps and reporting them.

    There is also a focus on IPTVs and card sharing piracy, two systems which have proven the most harmful to the owners of audiovisual rights. Over 15,800 IPTV subscriptions have been reported to Google and 67.2% of these have been deindexed, while more than 10,800 profiles that were sharing illegal streams in Facebook groups have been reported with over 91% of them removed. As for card sharing services, 5,772 of the 5,779 complaints filed were accepted and led to elimination.

    The value of in-house tools

    One of the most important factors behind these results has been LaLiga’s creation of its own tools. Marauder was the first system that LaLiga launched to help with geolocation, producing a map that outlined where to find most of the illegal websites, social media accounts and apps.

    Next there was Lumière, a tool that is constantly evolving and that assists with investigations by digitally extracting evidence. This tool was even loaned to Spain’s Ministry of Culture and Sport and Peru’s National Institute for the Defence of Free Competition and the Protection of Intellectual Property.

    According to Emilio Fernández del Castillo, the head of LaLiga’s Technological Protection of Content department, there are plenty more solutions to come. “The main success from this year is the Blackhole software, which has helped us to draw up maps of IPTVs at a national and international level and this helps us to define our strategy,” he said. “Soon we’ll have NEKO, a new tool that will allow us to file reports on social media in a quicker and more efficient manner. This will allow the number of complaints made per minute to increase considerably.”

    The continued development of such tools is the result of significant and long-standing investment, something that LaLiga recognised as necessary in properly tackling piracy.

    “The development of leading technology requires significant investment of human and technical resources, but LaLiga hasn’t held back and we have our own anti-piracy lab that is made up of more than 25 people in addition to those from other departments, like the legal department, who offer their assistance,” said Diego Dabrio, head of the Global Protection of Content department at LaLiga. “We don’t only have the challenge of having to remain up to date and aware of the latest digital trends; we also have to be proactive.”

    An international leader

    Beyond its own competition, LaLiga has opened its doors to international partners, coalitions and parties who are also hurt by piracy. “Sadly, piracy is a global issue,” explained Dabrio. “There is a section of society, largely made up of the youngest generations, of people who seem to have grown up with a mistaken belief that piracy is a normal thing and that it’s socially acceptable. But it is a crime that negatively impacts the entertainment industry and society as a whole.”

    As part of the efforts to stop piracy, LaLiga has organised awareness campaigns to help explain the significant damage caused by illegally watching audiovisual content.

    There are a number of countries where LaLiga is working on anti-piracy, including Portugal, Italy, Russia, South Africa, Colombia and Malaysia. Furthermore, the Global Protection of Content department are taking administrative and legal action in countries such as Brazil, Uruguay, the Republic of the Congo, Mexico, Argentina and Ecuador.

    “Through LaLiga’s efforts and thanks to collaboration with other members of the industry, blocking orders have been granted in Mexico, Peru, Denmark, Ecuador and Indonesia,” Dabrio continued. “There have also been operations in Senegal, Brazil, the Dominican Republic and Curaçao. We’ve worked out that these measures have affected more than 155 million monthly visits to these illegal platforms.”

    Sharing knowledge to turn up the pressure

    A significant part of LaLiga’s anti-piracy strategy is the sharing of its knowledge with other institutions. “At LaLiga, we’re open to collaborating with any company that owns audiovisual content, whether it’s football, other sports or general entertainment,” Dabrio stated. “In fact, LaLiga forms part of a number of coalitions that focus on tackling piracy and on protecting content. Not only do we participate a lot in these coalitions, but we have a leading role. It’s vital that the industry works in a united and coordinated manner. Rights holders need to actively collaborate and share experiences and objectives that mark the way forward.”

    Having become a leader in terms of the technology it has developed, LaLiga can offer smaller leagues, such as Belgium’s Jupiler Pro League, access to the same tools. “LaLiga has been pioneering in the sense of offering anti-piracy services to other leagues and we’re in conversation with other important rights holders too,” Dabrio said.

    There’s a need to work with all kinds of organisations, including those in the judiciary, to bring about change. “Our good relationships with the police and the public prosecutors help to make the fraud detection processes more efficient,” added Dabrio. “We need to have judicial frameworks that promote effective mechanisms that protect audiovisual content in real time and I believe collaboration between the public and private sectors is fundamental for this.”

    As part of this, Dabrio pointed to the examples of LaLiga allowing the government to use the tools that it had designed, such as Lumiére.

    While there is still work to be done, audiovisual pirates around the world are feeling the impact of LaLiga’s tools and international alliances. “The development of new tools and more innovative software, as well as the increase in the number of those involved, has been key in ensuring that the statistics keep on moving in a positive direction,” explained Fernández del Castillo. With more developments and more partnerships to come, even more illegal activity will be stopped in the future.”

  • BKT – LaLiga Event in Mumbai with Diego Forlan – Pictures and Audio

    BKT – LaLiga Event in Mumbai with Diego Forlan – Pictures and Audio

    MUMBAI: Balkrishna Industries Limited (BKT), India’s leading manufacturer of off-highway tires has signed on as “Official Global Partner of LaLiga”. BKT aims for performance without limits – just like sport. And like Liga de Fútbol Profesional (LaLiga), it has a global presence that reaches people all around the world. These conditions create a fertile ground for a new partnership.

    The partnership takes immediate effect and will run for three years until the end of the 2021/2022 season.

    “LaLiga stands for excellence and is a synonym for football with a capital ‘F’,” Rajiv Poddar, Joint Managing Director of BKT, states. “From today on, we are following a new marketing initiative within the Spanish football world, and I am really glad and proud of it. LaLiga is a brand of unquestionable value. It is an honor to act side by side this name!”

    “It is a great pleasure that we can strengthen the bond between BKT and the world of sport, and above all the football world with both its rules and dynamics that we find fully in line with our own values, along with determination and the uncompromising wish to win,” Mr. Poddar added.

    This is a decisive goal on BKT’s path of increasing its brand awareness. The company is extraordinarily active when it comes to communication and promotion – a unique and distinguishing feature. Sport is an instrument that perfectly supports BKT’s message on a global level thanks to its characteristic traits such as fair play, respect for the opponent, competition and strategy – values that are shared by LaLiga.

    Mr. Jose Antonio Cachaza, Managing Director, LaLiga India said, “BKT has always recognized the power of sport in speaking to their key stakeholders. We are very excited to be welcoming BKT, a brand that share the same values as LaLiga, as our partner for the next three years. I’m sure that, together, we’ll be able to bring LaLiga closer to our fans over the world while our brands keep growing internationally.”

    Becoming Official Global Partner of LaLiga is another initiative that adds to the numerous sport events that BKT has been actively supporting worldwide. These include the 2014-agreement with the Monster Jam circuit, the American motorsport show where giant Monster Trucks fitted with BKT tires perform astonishing stunts; the sponsorship agreement with Lega Nazionale Professionisti B, the governing body of the Italian second league championship, which was undertaken last year being effective till June 2021, and which has changed its name into “Serie BKT”.

    On this partnership, Diego Forlan, LaLiga Ambassador, said, “India is extremely passionate about football and has high potential to become stronger in global football. During my time in India, I got to interact with Indian footballers, aspiring footballers and other stakeholders who were invested in building up the football environment in the country. It is good to see an Indian brand like BKT join hands with LaLiga to build more awareness.”

    In addition, BKT sponsors the French “Coupe de la Ligue BKT” football competition, to which the company has given its name till June 2024, as well as the partnership with the Australian cricket championship with the KFC Big Bash League, which is valid for two more years.

    At a local level, Spain is for BKT a major strategic market in Europe, especially in the farming sector. BKT provides tires operating in several specialist sectors. Yet, it is right agriculture where everything has started, and the company has literally taken the field.

    The BKT brand is particularly recognized and appreciated by Spanish users, and it is the perfect moment to strengthen the existing bond. Could there be a better means than sport? Side by side anywhere – no matter whether it is a farming or a playing field.