Meet Facebook’s Newest Plan for India

August 14, 2018 by Chris Lange

Early on Tuesday came an announcement that social media giant Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) would be partnering up to broadcast Spain’s premier soccer league to South Asia. La Liga has entered into a three-season deal with Facebook to bring soccer to eight countries in the Indian subcontinent.

Currently, Facebook has about 348 million users in the Indian subcontinent, with India being the home to its biggest user base of 270 million users. It’s worth noting that India is also the world’s fastest-growing smartphone market.

Soccer is by far the favorite sport in the world, and with India’s growing proclivity for technology and social media, this partnership seems to be a natural conclusion.

While this is obviously a great deal for Facebook, with more users using its platform to catch the games, adding more soccer fans in India could equate to more revenue for La Liga. Keep in mind that soccer in India is still in its early stages compared with the rest of the world, and there is a lot of room for this consumer base to expand.

As for the deal, Facebook and La Liga have not disclosed any of the financial details. However, according to Reuters, previous rights holder Sony Pictures Network paid a reported $32 million to broadcast La Liga in the region between 2014 and 2018.

Shares of Facebook were last seen up nearly 1% at $181.41 on Tuesday, with a consensus analyst price target of $211.03 and a 52-week trading range of $149.02 to $218.62.

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