MTV to air LaLiga in Indian subcontinent via Viacom 18

The Viacom 18 media group has secured the linear and digital media rights to the Spanish LaLiga in the Indian subcontinent for the next three years.

Under the terms of the deal, Viacom18’s flagship youth television brand MTV will exclusively broadcast LaLiga fixtures, along with selected national and regional network channels, as well as its over-the-top (OTT) Voot platform and digital service provider Jio.

In addition, the deal covers India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Bhutan, Nepal, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and the Maldives, with commentary provided in English and Hindi, whilst ‘high-profile’ matches will be available with commentary in Bengali, Kannada, Telugu and Malayalam on additional channels.

“We’ve been doing some soul-searching at MTV and are very clear about our need to go after youth passion points irrespective of how they’ve been defined in the ‘legacy world’,” said Anshul Ailawadi, Business Head – Youth, Music and English Entertainment at Viacom 18.

“Football is one of these passion points, like reality, music and so on. In this context, LaLiga was a perfect fit given the support it enjoys amongst young at heart Indians.”

Multinational conglomerate Facebook previously held the rights to the Spanish top-flight from the 2018/19 campaign to the 2020/21 season, with Sony sublicensing a broadcast package from the social media platform for the first term.

The deal represents Viacom 18’s – a joint venture between US mass media company ViacomCBS and Indian conglomerate Network18 – first foray into sports in India.

Oscar Mayo, LaLiga Executive Director, added: “Having set one of the highest standards of football globally, and India gaining tremendous momentum, we are confident that we will reach and engage with the youthful audience that MTV as a destination appeals to.”

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