Global Fútbol

LaLiga and Microsoft have announced an expansion of their partnership focused on taking the digital transformation of sport to the next level, developing new fan experiences as well as offering technology solutions to the media and entertainment industry through LaLiga’s technology arm, LaLiga Tech.

As LaLiga’s global Tech and Innovation Partner, Microsoft will support new and existing technologies that can drive innovation across the sports industry, including:

• For sports fans: Data-enhanced match coverage, personalized OTT streaming options such as camera angle selection in matches, augmented reality, virtual reality and 3-D replays.
• For rights holders, broadcasters and commercial partners: An enhanced OTT streaming platform that features personalized recommendations and enhanced experiences with relevant content, games and services. 
• For venue managers: New innovations in security to improve stadium operations and unified in-stadium experiences through 5G.

As part of the collaboration, LaLiga will utilize Microsoft Azure, including AI and machine learning for its LaLigaSportsTV OTT platform and Mediacoach (match stats and visualization) platform, to reinvent interactive audiovisual experiences and formats.

Growth of LaLiga Tech

The collaboration is key to the growth and development of LaLiga Tech, through which LaLiga will package its full range of existing technologies into a commercial offering for the sports industry, from match-day stats and analytics to the next generation of OTT streaming services, to the most advanced content protection services and venue access management systems.

This will help LaLiga expand into a new era in sports and beyond and enhance the fan experience by creating new data-driven technology solutions and provide customized technology platforms, services and solutions to third parties.

“We value Microsoft as our technology and innovation partner and appreciate how they collaborate deeply to build innovative solutions aimed at solving business challenges specific to our industry,” said LaLiga President Javier Tebas. “We are moving into a new era in which technology will become the center of the fan experience and data insights will power the next stage of global growth.”

Rich technology heritage

The offerings build on LaLiga’s rich history of investing and focusing on the development of technology aimed at enhancing the fan experience, including a robust app ecosystem that has had more than 113 million downloads globally. LaLigaSportsTV, which provides a free OTT video streaming platform for multiple sports beyond football, has had over 1.5 million registered users.

In addition, LaLiga utilizes Microsoft Power BI dashboards to provide data visualization for TV audiences, social media, brand favourability and engagement, web and app performance per country, helping LaLiga and its clubs create more engaging and tailored experiences.

With such platforms connected to a single data ecosystem, LaLiga is able to deliver personalized content based on fan preferences which has been key to increasing engagement and growing its global following.

The collaboration with Microsoft will continue providing LaLiga with new growth and business opportunities by developing tailored innovations for the sports market, entertainment companies and other commercial companies around the globe.

“We are thrilled to expand our partnership with LaLiga as it makes further bold moves to deepen engagement with its hundreds of millions of fans, while bringing new business models to market with Microsoft cloud and AI capabilities,” added Jean-Philippe Courtois, EVP and President Global Sales, Marketing & Operations, Microsoft Corp. “Microsoft is proud to help accelerate LaLiga’s digital innovation and empower exciting new business opportunities in the sports and entertainment industries through LaLiga’s technology portfolio.”