It was recently reported that Facebook was in negotiations to acquire exclusive broadcast rights for Premier League games in Asia. Facebook has been serious about bringing sports streams to its platform and it has even hired Eurosport CEO Peter Hutton for the purpose. The company’s latest deal is reportedly worth £200 million which will allow it to broadcast Premier League games in Asia.
Its deal with the Premier League will allow Facebook to broadcast live games in Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos for the 2019-2020 season. All of these countries have a major following of British league football.
The Times reports that Facebook has paid £200 million at auction to get the rights to broadcast each season’s 380 games. It outbid Fox Sports Asia and BeIN Sports at the auction.
As previously mentioned, this isn’t the first time that Facebook has clinched rights to livestream sports. La Liga and MLS matches have already been streamed on its platform but this latest deal shows that the company is very serious about competing in this space.
It’s interesting to note that Facebook’s deal follows a recent deal between Amazon and the Premier League in the United Kingdom which granted Amazon the rights to broadcast 20 live matches per season in 2019.
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