LaLiga extends partnership with Twitch into live commentary

Leading Spanish soccer league LaLiga has teamed up with Amazon-owned Twitch to bring some of the service’s most celebrated Spanish streamers and their communities closer to the action, commentating on the season’s matches from a commentary box within LaLiga Santander stadia. The Sportscasters by Twitch programme will see them live streaming from LaLiga stadia within customised commentary boxes, viewable on their individual Twitch channels. The first example will see /Perxitaa live streaming from the Estadio de Mestalla for the match between Valencia CF and FC Barcelona.

Alfredo Bermejo

LaLiga says this will be the first time content creators have been accredited as commentators in order to share their perspective on the game in person, reacting to the most significant moments from the matches and sharing behind the scenes action.

Despite streamers not being able to display live match footage, live sports commentary has become a growing trend on Twitch, with millions of viewers tuning in to follow streamers’ reactions to live sports events. On Twitch, viewers can interact with streamers and other sports fans using Twitch’s live chat functionality.

Alfredo Bermejo, LaLiga’s director of digital strategy said: “This agreement brings fans of these streamers closer to their favourite football teams, giving them an experience that they have never been able to enjoy before. It is yet another step in LaLiga’s strategy to pre-empt and adapt to the needs of its fans”.

Farhan Ahmed, Twitch’s director, creator expansion, EMEA, said: “La Liga was quick to recognise the power of livestreaming on Twitch and today’s announcement is an exciting development for our community. Twitch streamers like /Perxitaa are celebrated for their ability to create authentic, unedited, live content while leading a dialogue with fans. Through this collaboration, fans will be able to share real-time moments with streamers and a community of like-minded people.”