Laliga Hits UK Terrestrial TV
LaLiga has made its UK terrestrial TV debut, following the conclusion of a deal with ITV for the remainder of the 2018/19 season.
The national broadcaster screened its first game on Sunday under a new agreement with the Spanish league and its new UK broadcast partner Premier Sports.
While Eleven Sports will remain the only UK and Ireland platform with rights to show every LaLiga game this season, Premier Sports will now also offer four matches per round via its linear pay-TV channel available on Sky and Virgin TV platforms.
ITV will screen one further live fixture from each matchday on free-to-air television as well as a weekly highlights show. The terrestrial broadcaster will not, however, enjoy first pick of the games.
The move follows Premier Sports’ acquisition of the Serie A rights ceded by Eleven Sports as part of the fall-out of the Aser company’s break-up with IMG.
Commenting on the announcement, LaLiga President Javier Tebas said: “This is a fantastic moment for LaLiga in the UK and Ireland. The best league in the world will be available to more fans than ever before. We are delighted to welcome Premier Sports and ITV Sport to our broadcaster stable in the UK and Ireland which already includes Eleven Sports.”
Melcior Soler, LaLiga Audiovisual Department Director, added: “Spanish football fans across these territories can now follow LaLiga in a variety of formats while enjoying live action and weekly highlights via digital, pay-TV and free-to-air platforms”.
“Few countries have an appetite for football like the UK and Ireland and we are happy to provide multiple forms of access to the best league in the world, including LaLiga’s first agreement to show free-to-air matches in the United Kingdom. This is part of our continued commitment to our fans to make LaLiga available in as many ways as possible.”
The new broadcast agreement follows a move by LaLiga last month to make all matches from its second tier, LaLiga 1|2|3, available free of cost via YouTube to over 150 countries worldwide, including the United Kingdom and Ireland. LaLiga says UK fans are so far leading the world in YouTube viewership numbers.
