Facebook to start livestream of Champions League games in U.S.

Facebook will broadcast Champions League matches for American internet users under a deal with Fox Sports, which will host the livestreams on its pages, the channel said Tuesday.

The partnership will involve two group matches per day, four round of sixteen games and the four quarter-finals of the 2017-18 season, in the social media giant’s latest foray into sportscasting.

Facebook will act only as a host for the streams, with the images and content produced by Fox Sports.

A Fox Sports spokesman confirmed that the content would only be available to Facebook users in the United States.

Facebook has already signed partnership with the North American football league Major League Soccer, which will see around 20 matches broadcast in 2017, as well as an agreement with Liga MX, the Mexican championship, for some 40 games last season.

The social media giant, which announced Tuesday it had crossed two billion active monthly users, also signed a deal with Major League Baseball in May for 20 regular season games.

It also enjoys a relationship with the NBA which resulted in January in the broadcast of a game between Sacramento and Golden State, only available in India — a prized market for the North American basketball league.

AFP