Peter Hutton, Facebook’s director of global sports partnerships, has said that the social media giant is “testing the market” before deciding the position it wants to take within the sports rights landscape.
Speaking at Sportel in Monaco, Hutton said Facebook has “no plans” to invest in more sports rights in the near future, including for Uefa Champions League matches, which have recently gone to tender in France.
However, the former Eurosport chief executive admitted “it would be daft” to rule out changes to Facebook’s approach at a time when the industry is rapidly changing.
“Our position changes as the platform changes, but I am certainly not expecting any huge investments in sports rights in the near future,” Hutton told journalists on Tuesday. “I know that people always talk about the big [technology] giants coming and that life is changing. Who knows? Maybe one day, but certainly not today.
“The goal is to create positive experiences on the platform, and that is a deliberately vague answer because I think we’ve got to work out what the positives on the platform [are] and that answer is different by territory, or different by age, and depth of fandom.
“I know that’s not a headline answer, but I think that’s the reality: that we have to find the right fit. Facebook talks a lot about product-market fit – a lot of testing and, if we find a product-market fit, we will invest further in that idea – and I think that sums up where we are in sport.”
Facebook has rights to Spanish soccer’s La Liga in India, the World Surf League (WSL) globally, and this year showed six live Major League Baseball (MLB) games in the US via its Watch platform, while it also has highlights deals in place with the National Football League (NFL) and MLB. However, Hutton noted that “95 to 96 per cent” of live sport on Facebook is not paid for by the company.
“The majority of that content is done without any payment from Facebook,” Hutton explained. “It monetises itself and the big publishers get returns back from it. There’s an ad-break system that then gives a share of revenue back.
“When we talk about the live content on Facebook, the classic journalist message is always about the two or three paid deals that have got a lot of headlines, but the reality is that 95 to 96 per cent of the live sport on the platform we don’t pay for.
“I genuinely think it’s difficult to look into the future of the sports media space at the moment, and that’s not me being naturally cautious; let’s see where this goes. The consumption habits are changing all the time [and] the idea of watching live events on mobile has certainly transformed in the last few years.
“It is very difficult to see where that trend will go, except that trend towards streaming and having more control over what you watch seems inevitable. How that works out in terms of content and where that shifts to and monetises itself, we’re all watching that journey with interest.”
Hutton was asked about the role other tech firms are playing in the sports rights space, particularly ecommerce giant Amazon, which has made its intentions clear by acquiring rights to Thursday night NFL games, select matches from English soccer’s Premier League and a host of tennis tournaments in certain markets.
“I think they buy for their business reasons and I think that’s for them to do analysis,” Hutton continued. “It’s very difficult to draw conclusions to exactly what they want to do, but I think it’s fair to say that they are having trials in key markets just as we’re having trials in key markets.
“Covering sports live and being involved in the sports industry is a big learning process, so it’s important that, when you take steps, you take small steps and you don’t take big gambles, because there is nothing more frustrating as a sports fan than being given a bad experience.
“We clearly share an attitude with Amazon and the rest of the new players, but what we’re trying to do is give people a better experience in terms of a portfolio of products. You want people to be active viewers… we estimated that somebody who engages with that content watches four or five times longer than someone who sits as a passive consumer.
“If there is anything that sums up what we and Amazon and others are doing is making those first steps in that direction, but clearly everybody what’s to take that step; something that adds value to the system and doesn’t reflect badly on the brand.”
For that reason, Hutton says that Facebook, and particularly its Watch streaming platform, is a “natural funnel” for leagues looking to expand their reach overseas.
“Over-the-top is a really good example of where you can perform well side-by-side with a league and an OTT brand because they permanently need to find new subscribers and audiences,” Hutton added.
“As a result, we can target people who watch one minute of their team, their league, or their video content – and if you watch one minute of content in the social media world, then you are pretty interested – so we can permanently create that funnel of subscribers for them.
“We are confident of our place as the free, widest exposed platform that allows them to convert passionate fans into being paid OTT subscribers.”
Peter Hutton, Facebook’s director of global sports partnerships, has said that the social media giant is “testing the market” before deciding the position it wants to take within the sports rights landscape.
Speaking at Sportel in Monaco, Hutton said Facebook has “no plans” to invest in more sports rights in the near future, including for Uefa Champions League matches, which have recently gone to tender in the UK and France.
However, the former Eurosport chief executive admitted “it would be daft” to rule out changes to Facebook’s approach at a time when the industry is rapidly changing.
“Our position changes as the platform changes, but I am certainly not expecting any huge investments in sports rights in the near future,” Hutton told journalists on Tuesday. “I know that people always talk about the big [technology] giants coming and that life is changing. Who knows? Maybe one day, but certainly not today.
“The goal is to create positive experiences on the platform, and that is a deliberately vague answer because I think we’ve got to work out what the positives on the platform [are] and that answer is different by territory, or different by age, and depth of fandom.
“I know that’s not a headline answer, but I think that’s the reality: that we have to find the right fit. Facebook talks a lot about product-market fit – a lot of testing and, if we find a product-market fit, we will invest further in that idea – and I think that sums up where we are in sport.”
Facebook has rights to Spanish soccer’s La Liga in India, the World Surf League (WSL) globally, and this year showed six live Major League Baseball (MLB) games in the US via its Watch platform, while it also has highlights deals in place with the National Football League (NFL) and MLB. However, Hutton noted that “95 to 96 per cent” of live sport on Facebook is not paid for by the company.
“The majority of that content is done without any payment from Facebook,” Hutton explained. “It monetises itself and the big publishers get returns back from it. There’s an ad-break system that then gives a share of revenue back.
“When we talk about the live content on Facebook, the classic journalist message is always about the two or three paid deals that have got a lot of headlines, but the reality is that 95 to 96 per cent of the live sport on the platform we don’t pay for.
“I genuinely think it’s difficult to look into the future of the sports media space at the moment, and that’s not me being naturally cautious; let’s see where this goes. The consumption habits are changing all the time [and] the idea of watching live events on mobile has certainly transformed in the last few years.
“It is very difficult to see where that trend will go, except that trend towards streaming and having more control over what you watch seems inevitable. How that works out in terms of content and where that shifts to and monetises itself, we’re all watching that journey with interest.”
Hutton was asked about the role other tech firms are playing in the sports rights space, particularly ecommerce giant Amazon, which has made its intentions clear by acquiring rights to Thursday night NFL games, select matches from English soccer’s Premier League and a host of tennis tournaments in certain markets.
“I think they buy for their business reasons and I think that’s for them to do analysis,” Hutton continued. “It’s very difficult to draw conclusions to exactly what they want to do, but I think it’s fair to say that they are having trials in key markets just as we’re having trials in key markets.
“Covering sports live and being involved in the sports industry is a big learning process, so it’s important that, when you take steps, you take small steps and you don’t take big gambles, because there is nothing more frustrating as a sports fan than being given a bad experience.
“We clearly share an attitude with Amazon and the rest of the new players, but what we’re trying to do is give people a better experience in terms of a portfolio of products. You want people to be active viewers… we estimated that somebody who engages with that content watches four or five times longer than someone who sits as a passive consumer.
“If there is anything that sums up what we and Amazon and others are doing is making those first steps in that direction, but clearly everybody what’s to take that step; something that adds value to the system and doesn’t reflect badly on the brand.”
For that reason, Hutton says that Facebook, and particularly its Watch streaming platform, is a “natural funnel” for leagues looking to expand their reach overseas.
“Over-the-top is a really good example of where you can perform well side-by-side with a league and an OTT brand because they permanently need to find new subscribers and audiences,” Hutton added.
“As a result, we can target people who watch one minute of their team, their league, or their video content – and if you watch one minute of content in the social media world, then you are pretty interested – so we can permanently create that funnel of subscribers for them.
“We are confident of our place as the free, widest exposed platform that allows them to convert passionate fans into being paid OTT subscribers.”
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