U-NEXT and DAZN secure LaLiga rights for the Japanese market

U-NEXT and DAZN reinforced its commitment to streaming the world’s best football by securing the co-exclusive Japanese rights for one of the biggest football leagues in the world, Spain’s LaLiga.

The multi-year deal to stream LaLiga Santander gives both DAZN and U-NEXT all 380 matches from LaLiga live and on-demand, in full HD (1080p) on supported devices and including six promotion playoffs and a range of other highlights, weekly previews, news and review programmes. In the case of DAZN will also include all the broadcasting rights of the matches from LaLiga SmartBank, Spanish football’s second tier.

The agreement, which will cover 5 seasons, from the 23/24 to the 27/28, will be the first signed by U-NEXT, while it will be an extension with DAZN, with which LaLiga has a broadcasting agreement since 2017.

With this partnership, DAZN and U-NEXT have strengthened their positions as the home of the world’s best players, with the likes of Robert Lewandowski, Vinicius Junior, Thibaut Courtois, Pedri, Antoine Griezmann and many more joining a growing collection of superstars.

LaLiga has also been home to Japanese football legends over the years like Takashi Inui (S.D. Eibar, Real Betis Balonpié and Deportivo Alavés), Shinji Okazaki (SD Huesca and FC Cartagena), and currently features Takefusa Kubo (Real Sociedad) and Gaku Shibasaki (CD Leganés).

Commenting on the announcement, Melcior Soler, LaLiga’s Audiovisual Director stated “At LaLiga we always look for best-in-class partners to deliver Spanish football to fans everywhere. The renewal of our agreement with DAZN and our new agreement with U-NEXT ensures people in Japan will be able to enjoy LaLiga to the fullest.”

Tenshin Tsutsumi, CEO of U-NEXT stated “We are delighted to become the new home of LaLiga, and look forward to delivering high-quality streaming of world-class football to fans across Japan. It is an honor to feature LaLiga on our service amongst our growing inventory of premium entertainment, including movies, dramas, anime, documentaries, music content and e-publications, and are excited to introduce the allure of this league to all our viewers.”

Manabu Yamada, DAZN Japan’s Executive Vice President, stated “We are so excited to extend our long-standing partnership with LaLiga, one of the biggest football leagues in the world. DAZN Japan started streaming LaLiga in 2017, and we are thrilled that this extension means we will be delivering LaLiga to Japanese fans for more than 10 years. DAZN will also broadcast LaLiga SmartBank, enabling Japanese fans to enjoy all the Japanese top players in Spain. We are committed to continue to provide the passion of LaLiga through live matches, highlights, and non-live contents.”