Spanish soccer champions FC Barcelona are planning to launch their own subscription-based over-the-top (OTT) streaming service in the spring of this year as part of a wider overhaul of the club’s digital strategy.
The 24/7 streaming platform, which has been named Barça TV+, will house all of the La Liga outfit’s owned video content, including on-demand highlights from first-team matches, exclusive player interviews and archive footage.
All of the club’s original video content will be generated by their existing Barça Studios production house, which will utilise subscriber data to cater for personalised user experiences. Original content will also be sold in conjunction with existing and future partners.
The platform will also include live streams from first-team press conferences, B team fixtures, and all women’s team home games from the top-flight Primera Iberdrola, which are currently available via the club’s linear Barça TV network. There will also be non-live content from the club's other sports assets, including their basketball and roller hockey teams.
Speaking to journalists on 3rd February, Spanish entrepreneur and FC Barcelona board member Dídac Lee said: “Our competitors are no longer only the clubs playing football – there are new players we may not have expected ten years ago, such as Netflix, YouTube, Fortnite, MindCraft. Traditionally, we have been working with the biggest platforms in the world.
“We want to empower this vision by adding our own platforms. Our idea is very simple. We want to have a direct relationship with our fans, we want learn about them, including what they like, and on what devices, so we can improve the fan experience.”
The announcement forms part of an ambitious overhaul of the club’s digital strategy, which aims to triple the annual €100 million (US$110.6 million) Barcelona currently generate from digital ticketing and merchandise revenue streams over the next five years.
The club are yet to confirm a pricing model for the membership platform, although they confirmed to media that the cost for the membership will vary by country.
Barcelona have a global social media following of more than 350 million, and recently overtook Spanish rivals Real Madrid to become China’s most popular soccer club online, more than doubling their followers on Weibo to 16.3 million in 2019. In total, the club also accumulated more than two billion social video views during the 2018/19 season.
FC Barcelona’s chief marketing officer Gullem Graell said: “It shows us that the platform where our strategy sits is extremely powerful. If we are the biggest brand in the world in terms of revenue, what can we do [other than] to just defend ourselves?
“Instead of doing that, we have changed the frame of who is our competitor. If we only consider the sports clubs, we are already there; the job is done. If we are competing with other companies such as Netflix or Disney, we are way smaller.
“Until now, we leverage this potential through third-party platforms, which is where our fans normally consume the sports content. Today, while keeping the effort in this space, we are adding on top of that a direct [route] to the fan with our own platforms.”
Graell added that he does not expect the platform to show live first-team matches in international territories – a tactic that European soccer’s governing body Uefa is considering for its own Uefa.tv streaming platform – though went as far as to say that it “could be an option” in the future, as could streaming live pre-season coverage.
“In the short-term, we don’t count on it for the first year,” he said. “We do have some interest generating from our B team, and incredible growth from the women’s team, for which we own the local rights for home games.
“For first-team rights globally, [some properties] are putting this on their own OTT service. At the moment, I see this as more of a protective move to be able to compete [in regions] where they have no tenders.”
Under the digital transformation, the club will also aim to monetise content via other avenues, including new membership and ecommerce streams, mobile ticketing, social media engagement, and the in-venue experience.
The club’s new Culers Membership will include unlimited access to Barça TV+ on a freemium basis via the club’s official website and mobile app. Members will also be given access to discounts for ticketing and merchandise while the club are also planning to digitalise the sale of matchday tickets and in-venue purchases using the FC Barcelona mobile app.
Spanish soccer champions FC Barcelona are planning the launch of their very own subscription-based over-the-top (OTT) service in the spring of this year, as part of a new alignment of the club’s digital assets.
The 24/7 streaming platform, which has been named Barça TV+, will house all of the La Liga outfit’s owned video content, including on-demand highlights from the club’s first-team matches, exclusive player interviews, and archived footage.
All of the club’s original video content will be generated by their existing Barça Studio, based at the club’s Nou Camp home stadium, which will utilise subscriber data to cater for personalised user experiences. Original content will also be sold in conjunction with existing and future partners.
In addition, the platform will also include live streams from first-team press conferences, B Team fixtures, and all women’s home games from the Primera Iberdrola currently available via the club’s linear Barça TV network, plus non-live content from its other sports assets, including FC Barcelona’s basketball and roller hockey teams.
Speaking to journalists on 3rd February, Spanish entrepreneur and FC Barcelona board member Dídac Lee said: “Our competitors are no longer only the clubs playing football – there are new players we may not have expected ten years ago, such as Netflix, YouTube, Fortnite, MindCraft. Traditionally, we have been working with the biggest platforms in the world.
“We want to empower this vision by adding our own platforms. Our idea is very simple. We want to have a direct relationship with our fans, we want learn about them, including what they like, and on what devices, so we can improve the fan experience.”
The announcement forms part of an ambitious overhaul of the club’s digital strategy, which aims to triple FC Barcelona’s existing €100 million per annum generated via its digital ticketing and merchandise revenue streams over the next five years.
The club has yet to confirmed a pricing model for the membership platform, though confirmed to media that the cost for its membership will vary by country.
FC Barcelona has a global social media following of more than 350 million, and recently overtook Spanish rivals Real Madrid to become China’s most popular soccer club online, more than doubling its followers on Weibo to 16.3 million in 2019. In total, the club also accumulated more than 2 billion social video views during the 2018/29 season.
FC Barcelona’s chief marketing officer Gullem Graell said: “It shows us that the platform where our strategy sits is extremely powerful. If we are the biggest brand in the world in terms of revenue, what can we do [other than] to just defend ourselves?
“Instead of doing that, we have changed the frame of who is our competitors. If we only consider the sports clubs, we are already there; the job is done. If we are competing with other companies such as Netflix or Disney, we are way smaller.
“Until now, we leverage this potential through third-party platforms, which is where our fans normally consume the sports content. Today, while keeping the effort in this space, we are adding on top of that a direct [route] to the fan with our own platforms.”
Graell added that he does not expect the platform to show live first-team matches in international territories – a tactic that European soccer’s governing body is considering for its own Uefa.tv streaming platform – though went as far as to say it “ could be an option” in the future, including live pre-season coverage.
“In the short-term, we don’t count on it for the first year,” he said. “We do have some interest generating from our B team, and incredible growth from the women’s team, for which we own the local rights for home games.
“For first-team rights globally, [some properties] are putting this on their own OTT service. At the moment, I see this as more of protective move to be able to compete [in regions] where they have no tenders.”
Under the digital transformation, the club will aim to also monetise content via other avenues, including new membership and ecommerce streams, mobile ticketing, social media engagement, and the in-venue experience.
The club’s new Culers Membership will include unlimited access to Barça TV+ on a freemium basis via the club’s official website and mobile app. Members will also be given access to discounts for ticketing and merchandise while the club is also planning to digitalise the sale of matchday tickets and in-venue purchases using the FC Barcelona mobile app
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