Why it’s time for La Liga to further commercialise
La Liga in the past decade has increased exponentially in terms of popularity and has provided a great instrument for growing the Spanish economy, estimated to be contributing almost 2% by 2019 to the Spanish economy. La Liga has already started making marketing moves, making kickoff times earlier in the day to maximize viewership from Asia, and bringing big matches like the El Classico abroad. However, despite the currently popularity of La Liga, that doesn’t mean that La Liga shouldn’t stop expanding the brand.
The overall revenue of the 2016–17 La Liga season from TV rights was a reported €1.247B, seeing a huge leap of €851M from the 2014–15 season. Even though the current income distribution benefits La Liga clubs, there’s an overall decline in TV viewership amongst the younger generation. According to a 2017 report conducted by Ofcom, on average, teenagers watched 101 minutes of television everyday, and 16–24 year olds watched 114 minutes everyday, significantly less than the average daily viewing time of 212 minutes. Ofcom in this report also stated that there was a rise in the consumption of YouTube, Netflix, and Amazon, websites known for their on-demand entertainment. People are nowadays able to watch shows online without any advertisements or breaks, a potential factor why people have made the switch between TV and internet. With the decline in TV viewership and the increase in demand of football, it would be beneficial for La Liga if they started broadcasting matches on online streaming services.
Who will benefit
- Online streaming services
What makes online streaming services so popular is the fact that you can watch anything anywhere on the go and don’t have to purchase a full package just to watch one program. An example of where online streaming has found success is the “NBA G League” on Twitch. The NBA G League is a development league for young players who aspire to play in the NBA and has attracted large numbers by streaming it on Twitch. La Liga could broadcast matches on online streaming services and put ads in their streams, similar to how a YouTuber makes money from publishing a video. The likes of Twitch and Amazon already have a large audience, and already have a strong enough platform to broadcast matches. Furthermore, by having online streaming services available and TV services available, La Liga would be maximising their audience and have a wide range of age groups that watch their matches.
2. The Spanish economy
By 2019 La Liga is expected to contribute 2% to Spain’s economy, however, that figure could rise even higher if they choose to advertise even more beforehand. By advertising more, La Liga to help further stimulate the growth of the Spanish economy, especially after the economy is starting to recover from sky-high unemployment. The further advertising of La Liga could also potentially create more jobs and can be a great way to get more people into football as well.
3. La Liga clubs
Further commercialisation will only increase the global recognition of many La Liga clubs and increase the amount of money they receive from participating in La Liga, financially bolstering every team. While La Liga usually remains a “two horse race” every season, the increase of transfer budgets for teams allows for teams to perform at a higher quality when playing in European competitions, as they would have more money to spend.
The transfer market will still experience continuous inflation and the game will continue growing, as the demand for football rises and the that demand is fairly inelastic, which means that the consumer’s willingness to purchase the ability to watch Premier League football is not really affected by the change in price. What’s most important for the future of La Liga is how the league continues to grow globally, especially at a time when there’s so much money in the game.
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