Perform targets US expansion with LaLiga renewal
Digital sports media company Perform has extended its exclusive video betting coverage deal in various territories for LaLiga, which represents the top two divisions of Spanish football.
The renewed agreement, covering territories outside Spain, Andorra and the Middle East and North Africa, will run until the end of the 2022-23 season.
The Perform Content division has secured 848 matches per season across the top two tiers. Perform split its operations into distinct units recently, with DAZN, the company's flourishing OTT service, sitting alongside data-focused Perform Content, as well as betting-oriented Perform Gaming and Perform Media, which includes brands such as the company's popular Goal.com website and mobile app.
According to Perform Content chief commercial officer Andrew Ashenden, it will form a key component of the company’s US-facing video portfolio, with the market opening up to sports betting on a state-by-state basis after PASPA, the federal legislation that outlawed sports betting – was overturned in May by the Supreme Court.
“As with other territories we’ve built a portfolio of video rights that provide coverage 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” Ashenden told iGamingBusiness.com.
“We’re continuing to add to this portfolio and LaLiga is a great property both from a timing perspective and also because there is genuine interest in the league in the US.
“The US offers us opportunities to expand existing streaming deals and engage new clients. Growth in the US will be entirely dependent on states enacting regulation to permit sports betting and the type of environment that the regulation creates for operators.
“At the moment we’re excited about what we’re seeing in New jersey but other States are more challenging for operators.”
The LaLiga Data Centre, jointly led by Perform Content and LaLiga, was created with the aim of ensuring that LaLiga maximises the use of official match data across multiple sectors and channels by using Perform Content’s sports data services via Perform Content’s Opta and RunningBall data brands.
LaLiga audiovisual area director Melcior Soler added: “At LaLiga we are committed to using the latest video and analytical innovation wherever possible and Perform Content’s initiatives in this field will put us in a position to maximise our streaming capabilities in key markets well into the next decade.”