MLS Commissioner Don Garber said the deal with Facebook to live stream at least 22 regular-season games through a pact with the league and Univision “came about proactively.” Garber, appearing on an SI podcast from SXSW, said, “Like all leagues we did the Silicon Valley road trip and spent some time with Facebook.” Garber noted MLS is “trying to figure out how can we continue to have our games available on as many platforms as possible, but we’re restricted by what our agreements are. We were able to find a very unique way to extend Univision’s relationship with us.” He noted the deal gives MLS the “opportunity to really see how all these new platforms ... can work for us.” It is also a “good way for Facebook to put their toe deeper in the water.” Garber said in the future, companies like Facebook, Twitter, Apple, Google and others will “absolutely” be in the mix to acquire media rights for sports leagues. Garber: “Whether or not they’ll drop a lot of money is still to be seen” (“Planet Futbol with Grant Wahl,” SI.com, 3/14).
SPORTS BOOK: RE/CODE's Kurt Wagner noted in addition to its deal with MLS, Facebook recently struck a streaming deal with the World Surf League. The NBA D-League also "streams games on Facebook, and over the summer, Facebook streamed pre-Olympics basketball games from the men’s and women’s national teams." Facebook’s interest in sports "isn’t a secret." However, "none of what Facebook has collected" is "must-see TV, and most of it isn’t even close." It "turns out finding video is easy, but finding good video -- more specifically, must-see good video -- is hard." Facebook is "still learning how this whole streaming thing works." If the social network "does end up bidding for NFL rights down the road ... it’ll need to prove that it knows how to deliver video to a massive audience, and these smaller deals give the company a chance to practice that delivery" (RECODE.net, 3/14).
