DOZENS of UEFA Champions League clashes will be streamed live on Facebook next season – but only for American viewers.
The move is certain to delight some fans but anger Brits who will be blocked from streams in which their own team might be playing.
PA:Press Association
Facebook struck up a deal with Fox Sports to show double-headers during the group stage, four Round of 16 games and four quarterfinal matches.
It’s hoped the broadcast will get advertisers to spend more money on capturing larger audiences.
The matches will be shown on Fox Sports’ Facebook page, according to reports in the US.
How they will block Brits is unclear – but if they do it’s likely there will be several workarounds, including using a virtual private network (VPN).
VPNs allow web browsers to appear as if they are surfing the net from a different country – and are often used when browsing Netflix to access new shows which are blocked by region.
“There are more matches in English and Spanish than we have networks to air them on,” David Nathanson, head of business operations at Fox Sports, said in an interview.
Getty Images
“Facebook has one of the most social soccer audiences on the web, and this is going to expose the Champions League to fans who aren’t tuning into a game on TV.”
“We’re excited to help Fox reach new audiences, people consuming content on digital, mobile and social,” said Dan Reed, Facebook’s head of global sports partnerships
“We’re bullish on soccer.”
EPA
DINO DISCOVERY
Largest dinosaur footprints unearthed in UK — and it was bigger than a BUS
CORE OF THE PROBLEM?
Apple engineer says pressure to design iPhone is reason I’m divorced
that’s entertainment
From today you can watch Netflix UK anywhere in Europe
BACK TO EARTH
Chinese space station crashes to Earth and just misses holiday island
A GALAXY FAR, FAR AWAY
Hubble Telescope captures image of most distant star ever spotted
pixel pitstop
Google tipped to launch a cheaper Pixel 3 phone – but there’s a huge catch
Several sports and pay-per-view matches can already be found on Facebook against the social network’s wishes.
Mark Zuckerberg’s firm has banned “illicit streaming devices”, but people are using its ‘Live’ broadcasting facility to beam out events to its two billion users.
Thousands of people use the live stream function to illegally broadcast premium sport.
A simple search of the name of a match during play throws up several live streams.
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at tips@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 782 4368
Be the first to comment