LaLigaSportsTV: Free access to live Spanish sport

LaLiga has officially unveiled its OTT (over-the-top) service, LaLigaSportsTV, which offers fans free coverage of live Spanish sporting competitions via mobile and connected devices. This service, designed by LaLiga, will boost the visibility and exposure of all Spanish sport, with matches also to be made available internationally via a catch-up service.

Through this platform LaLiga aims to support the development of audio-visual offerings for sports that do not receive coverage through traditional media channels and whose content distribution has been limited for fans.

LaLigaSportsTV was created with the sports fan experience in mind. This has resulted in a simple and accessible interface, featuring native applications, cloud-based HD content and the ability to customise content for both live and on-demand services.

Fans of Spanish sport living outside of Spain will be able to watch matches on demand after the live broadcast has ended, pending local rights restrictions. The LaLigaSportsTV app is available in eight languages (English, Spanish, German, French, Italian, Portuguese, Russia and Indonesian) for smartphone and tablet, while the smart TV service can be accessed in English and Spanish.

This service sees LaLiga strengthen its commitment to the sporting federations as a part of the LaLigaSports project, which was created to offer sporting federations in Spain enhanced exposure, help with their development and boost their motivation to compete.

Federations will also be able establish a new framework through which to reach their fans through the service. LaLiga is keen to assist the federations in gaining a better understanding of user consumption habits with a view to developing improved commercialisation strategies as far as audio-visual content and sponsorship are concerned.

LaLigaSportsTV is a central part of the league’s commitment to innovation and to be at the forefront of technological advances, particularly in the audio-visual field. LaLiga is the first major European league to roll out its own OTT service and offer fans a platform for niche sports. This product is the only one of its kind globally and demonstrates the leading role played by the LaLiga clubs.

The launch event for LaLigaSportsTV was attended by LaLiga President, Javier Tebas; the President of the Spanish Sports Association (ADESP), Jose Hidalgo; the Corporate Vice-President of Samsung Electronics Iberia, Celestino Garcia; the Captain of the Spanish rugby sevens team, Paco Hernandez; as well as several elite athletes from Spain including Carolina Marin, David Cal, Joana Pastrana, Jeronimo Garcia, Jose Javier Hombrados and the full Spanish rugby sevens team.

LaLigaSportsTV will now be promoted through an advertising campaign with the message 'Cuando te miran, lo das todo' (When you're being watched, you give your all), conveying that greater numbers of spectators have a direct impact on an athlete's performance levels.

At the beginning of the event a minute’s silence was observed for Marcos Garrido Beltrán, a motorcyclist who died yesterday in an accident in the Andalusia Supersport 300 championship race at the Circuito de Jerez track. LaLiga sends its deepest condolences to Marcos’ family and friends.

Media quotes:

Javier Tebas, President of LaLiga:

"The aim is to offer less high-profile sports greater and improved visibility via a platform where content is quickly and easily accessible, allowing fans to enjoy their favourite sport wherever, whenever and however they want."

Jose Hidalgo, President of the Spanish Sports Association (ADESP): "LaLigaSportsTV is a platform that will bring about a digital transformation and will offer exposure to the work carried out by each of the Spanish sporting federations."

Paco Hernandez, Captain of the Spanish rugby sevens team:

"It makes us proud to sport the logo of a brand as prestigious and representative of Spain as LaLigaSports. Now with LaLiga's new OTT we're convinced that rugby and the rest of the sports will enjoy greater visibility, which will also help our federations when it comes to securing new sponsors."

Celestino Garcia, Corporate Vice-President of Samsung Electronics Iberia: "Samsung is the world's leading technology company and one which always seeks to link up with the best partners. Technology and content are increasingly related and that's why we were keen to be a part of the LaLigaSports project. It will allow our clients to access the very best in sporting content via their television sets, smartphones and tablets. We're delighted to continue to offer innovative solutions to a partner of LaLiga's standing."

Practical information:

Through which devices can LaLigaSportsTV be viewed?

• iOS and Android apps for mobiles and tablets
• Samsung Smart TV
• Screen mirroring (Chromecast, Apple TV, Samsung)
• Other devices to be launched in the near future (web)

What does LaLigaSportsTV cost?

All LaLigaSportsTV content can be accessed for free, apart from the LaLiga 1|2|3 content, which involves a subscription only available for Spain.

Are LaLiga Santander and LaLiga 1|2|3 match broadcasts available via LaLigaSportsTV?

LaLiga Santander matches are not broadcast via LaLigaSports TV, whilst other content, including the highlights of every fixture and the pre- and post-match interviews, is available. Live LaLiga 1|2|3 match broadcasts are available through a subscription.

Which sports will LaLigaSportsTV users have access to?

LaLigaSportsTV will broadcast content relating to virtually all sports represented by the Spanish sporting federations.

The following dedicated channels will be available: 

• American football
• Badminton
• Basketball (LEB Oro)
• Boxing
• Canoeing
• Futsal (LNFS)
• Gymnastics
• Handball (Liga ASOBAL)
• Hockey
• LaLiga Santander (summaries and reports)
• LaLiga 1l2l3 TV
• Liga Iberdrola women’s football (summaries and reports)
• Motor racing
• Snooker
• Superbike
• Table tennis
• Triathlon
• Virtual LaLiga eSports
• Water polo
• Weightlifting
• Basque pelota (available in the coming days)
• Cycling (available in the coming days)
• Fencing (available from early May)
• Mountain climbing (available from the first week of April)
• Pétanque (available from the first week of April)
• Sailing (available from the first week of April)

The remaining sports that do not have a dedicated channel will be offered coverage via a general channel called LaLigaSports.

What features does LaLigaSportsTV offer?

In the design of the LaLigaSportsTV product particular attention was paid to usability and the user experience with a view to facilitating navigation and access to user content.

The homepage is the main search tool. Access to all of the product content is available via the homepage, which is divided into three main sections (displayed in content rows):

• Live content: This represents the main and most prominent content available via the OTT service. It takes centre stage on the homepage and the various live broadcasts are listed in chronological order, with the most imminent listed first.
• Recommended for you: in this section LaLigaSportsTV offers users video content suggestions based on their preferences.

The recommendation is currently based on the sports and favourite teams selected by the user.

In the near future, the idea is for the algorithm to identify user tastes and preferences in order to be able to offer the content which is of greatest interest at all times. Business intelligence and analytics are key elements within this project, given the huge amount of content and the great number of user typologies and tastes. Helping our users to find and consume content in a quick, easy and successful manner at all times is central to the LaLigaSportsTV experience.

• Sport-specific channels: through a cascading menu and by using the infinite scrolling technique, a series of sport-specific rows appear as users move the cursor down with their remote control. Once again, in the future, the order in which the sports appear will be based on individual user preferences.
•  Special features: using the platform control tool, the LaLigaSportsTV administrators will be able to create and remove feature sections. For example, they will be able to create a section featuring the week's most-watched videos or a section devoted to a particular tournament.
• Channels: this section allows users to gain easy access to the various sport-specific channels.
• Search tool: enables users to find content related to their favourite teams and sports by using keywords.
• Other features: the platform also contains other features, such as the option to save videos in favourites, share content with friends via social media or messaging services, configure push notifications so that the platform notifies the user whenever a particular live broadcast is set to begin.