La Liga launches OTT TV sports service

Spain’s La Liga has introduced a new OTT TV service that offers access to a range of minority sports from national sporting associations as well as second division football and summaries of La Liga matches.

According to La Liga, the service, LaLigaSportsTV, which will – mostly – be available free-to-view, is intended as a way to distribute coverage of multiple sporting disciplines.

The football league said that the service would provide a space for sports that are unavailable on traditional channels.

La Liga said that the launch positioned it as the first major European league to roll out its own OTT TV service, offering a platform for niche sports

The cloud-based service comes with a specially designed user interface and native apps, with content available in HD live and on-demand. LaLigaSports TV comes with a recommendation service based on usage patterns, as well as a scroll-based guide of available sports that is ordered according to user preferences over time.

Individuals supporting the initiative include Javier Tebas, president of La Liga, José Hidalgo, president of the Asociación del Deporte Español (ADESP), Celestino García, the VP of corporate affairs at Samsung Electronics Iberia, Spain’s Rugby7 captain Paco Hernández and other sporting federation leaders.

The service will be available via iOS and Android apps, Samsung smart TVs, Chromecast, Apple TV and Samsung streaming devices, with more web apps to follow.

Content is available free of charge with the exception of second-tier football in the form La Liga 1|2|3, which is available for a separate subscription priced at €14.99 a year or €2.99 a month.

Top tier football in the shape of La Liga Santander will not be available but match summaries will be broadcast along with pre- and post-match interviews.

The service will include live coverage of sports such as motorsports, badminton, LEB Oro basketball, Liga ASOBAL handball, boxing, American football, Futsal, gymnastics, hockey, table-tennis, triathlon and water polo.

Sports to follow later include cycling, petanque and fencing.