Facebook and Fox Partner Up to Stream Champions League Soccer

Facebook continues to make headlines as the social media company has struck a deal with Fox Sports to start streaming live Champions League soccer matches. According to an article published by Bloomberg, neither company wanted to disclose the financial terms of their agreement, but its streaming of over a dozen matches will begin as early as September.

The airing of live sporting events is important to these companies because of the large number of viewers they draw in, as well as those who want to discuss the games via social media. Facebook sees this as an opportunity to grow revenue and entice advertisers to spend more money at a higher rate, while also allowing their users to watch soccer, the world’s biggest and most viewed sport.

While Fox Sports already produces original programming for Facebook, including a weekly soccer show, the broadcast company hopes this deal will draw a much larger audience to its product. In addition, because Champions League games will not air on live television, Fox can now strongly push its mobile app and have users stream and connect with the games via mobile devices.

According to the Bloomberg interview, “There are more matches in English and Spanish than we have networks to air them on,” stated David Nathanson, head of business operations for Fox. “Facebook has one of the most social soccer audiences on the web, and this is going to expose the Champions’ League to fans who aren’t tuning into a game on TV.”

Both parties are excited about the partnership, with the common goal of reaching to a wider audience that loves to consume live content. With this continuing shift from television to streaming services, this deal is only going to make the accessibility of content that much easier for viewers, putting the control in their hands.