News
MON 07.03.2016
This morning LaLiga and MEDIAPRO received a Gold Play Button at the offices of Google Spain in Madrid, in recognition of the fact that LaLiga's YouTube channel has surpassed the one-million subscriber mark on the video-sharing platform.
The honour was presented to LaLiga president Javier Tebas and MEDIAPRO's Jaume Roures by Maria Ferreras, a director of strategic partnerships at YouTube. The official LaLiga channel has taken just four seasons to reach this milestone since its creation and is the first such channel run by a football league to achieve the feat.
Ferreras stated that she was "extra-thrilled" to hand over the Gold Play Button because she knew that "a lot of hard work" had gone into making it possible. To put LaLiga's YouTube achievement into context, she commented that, "Every month 65 million hours of football are watched worldwide [on YouTube], making it the number-one sport in the world. Furthermore, the two channels with the most subscribers and views are both Spanish [those belonging to FC Barcelona and Real Madrid]." "The Spanish league is the first in the world to reach a million subscribers. LaLiga and MEDIAPRO have been digital visionaries. The strategy behind the channel is what has enabled LaLiga to lead the way," she added.
The LaLiga channel has become one of the most popular destinations on the Internet to view highlights and all the goals from the best league in the world, as well as to hear the thoughts of coaches and players alike. On this note, LaLiga president Tebas stated that, "As soon as I took up my post, we spoke of digital platforms being vital. Based on that, we decided that we had to work on this fundamental area, and YouTube gives us that opportunity. If we don't work with our fans in mind, we won't be able to remain the best league in the world; we have to keep working on it. YouTube gives us that window to share our experience with our fans and we'll make it to 10 million [subscribers] sooner than you might think. Jaume and I will be here to celebrate it."
The clubs also have a big part in this success, as Tebas acknowledged: "Our clubs and players are a factor that helps us to grow a great deal." Nevertheless, the LaLiga president went on to explain that, "You can have the best players, but you still have to enhance the fans' experience and we have a digital strategy in place to be the number one. We believe we can still improve; I never settle for what we've got. I'm hopeful about the pay-per-view channels being consolidated through YouTube and our strategy is playing a key role."
Roures, meanwhile, voiced his satisfaction at the progress made towards fulfilling LaLiga and MEDIAPRO's objectives: "This is the fruit of almost three and a half years' work, selecting all the tools that we can use to give LaLiga pride of place in the world. We have sought ways to get people coming back by creating different formats. This is more than just a channel to watch goals." In this regard, it is worth noting that starting on Matchday 28, all the content on offer from the LaLiga channel has also been available within Spain.
"LaLiga has embarked on a highly successful path towards internationalisation and innovation in recent years, which we at MEDIAPRO have accompanied them on with our talent and experience. The great spectacle served up by this competition could not be restricted to being broadcast in Spain and through conventional channels," Roures remarked.
Roures also highlighted the "new pay-per-view window opened up for the Copa del Rey through YouTube," calling it "a minor revolution because it's something that didn't exist before. We've all got it up and running between us and will promote it even more ahead of next season. It's very important to us."
In addition to the landmark mentioned above, the YouTube channel managed jointly by LaLiga and MEDIAPRO (www.youtube.com/laliga) has recorded more than 250 million visits, 600 million minutes of watch time, a million 'Likes' and 200,000 comments. In the words of Ferreras, "It's a source of pride for Spain to be leading the way in the creation of footballing content on YouTube. This confirms the platform's role as a go-to site for fans, allowing them to enjoy the best of football when and where they want, whether on a computer, a tablet, a mobile phone or a TV."
The catalogue of videos has steadily grown and currently numbers over 20,000. The Liga Adelante and the Copa del Rey can also be followed on specific channels, www.youtube.com/ligaadelante and www.youtube.com/copadelrey respectively.
In addition, this season LaLiga and MEDIAPRO have gone a step further by launching live streams of Copa del Rey matches on YouTube in the United Kingdom, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal, Russia, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia, Macedonia, Ukraine, Switzerland, Greece, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Brazil and Argentina. Viewers can purchase a season pass or watch single matches on a pay-per-view basis (https://www.laliga.es/canalyoutube)
The good results achieved by the various channels and cutting-edge viewing options are further evidence of LaLiga's international expansion and Spanish football's engagement with new modes of digital production, distribution and consumption.
Football on YouTube
- Football is the #1 sport on YouTube.
- 64.7 million hours of football are watched on the platform worldwide per month.
- The #1 and #2 clubs on YouTube are both Spanish: FC Barcelona and Real Madrid.
- Spain is a major content exporter: 90% of watch time comes outside the country.
- Domestic watch time has grown 60% in the past year.
© LALIGA - 2016