LaLiga, Spanish soccer’s elite-tier competition, has today unveiled new partnerships with the social media video platform TikTok and cryptocurrency firm Bitget.
The tie-up with TikTok is centered around the promotion of LaLiga’s video content offering, with the social platform becoming the league’s “priority digital content partner.”
LaLiga will distribute tailored content on TikTok “designed specifically” for the app and its distribution system and will offer training to the media teams at each of its constituent clubs to best utilize the platform league-wide.
The league will also leverage prominent content creators on the platform to help grow its stature globally.
Speaking on what he referred to as a “collaborative deal” at the World Football Summit in Seville, LaLiga president Javier Tebas explained: “If we don’t grow our social media presence we will never catch up with the global appeal of the [English] Premier League.”
TikTok will also serve as priority innovation partner of LaLiga, with the league to receive early access to new affordances and formats developed by the app.
Under the agreement with Bitget, meanwhile, the firm will serve as the league’s official cryptocurrency partner in Eastern and Southeast Asia, and Latin America, in what the pair describe as a “multi-million-dollar partnership.”
The crypto firm said it will utilize the exposure provided by its association with LaLiga to grow its reach in target markets.
LaLiga will also benefit from Bitget’s blockchain (Web3) solutions, beneficial in an industry that the league has already sought entry to after unveiling its non-fungible token video platform in 2022.
Ivan Codina, Laliga’s managing director for Southeast Asia added: “This agreement is very important for LaLiga's international expansion, as it shows the strategic importance of Asia and territories such as Turkey and [Latin America].
“We know that LaLiga has fans all over the world and that these fans are on the cutting edge regarding innovation. This type of agreement helps us to get closer to this type of audience in these strategic markets.”
This agreement is the latest step LaLiga has taken in recent years to cement its commitment to digitalization and technological innovation.
Tebas said of this: “Over the last decade, digitalization and innovation have been among LaLiga's priorities. Last season, we made this a priority under the umbrella of our new era, which put the emphasis on technology: we want to be pioneers and we are committed to it.”
This new era was signified by a marked increase in production value that the league has leveraged to grow its commercialization.
The newly christened top-tier LaLiga EA Sports and second-tier LaLiga Hypermotion have also received entirely new graphic identities and broadcast setups, revolutionizing the look of a competition that had been stagnant for several years beforehand.
The league manages its broadcasts in-house, which it then sells to broadcasters domestically and internationally on one live feed ensuring a strong, uniform, and well-invested product for TV consumers.
