Los Angeles-based sports startup Sportle is trying to crack the increasingly crowded streaming space as it recently struck a deal with Italian soccer club AC Milan.
The partnership will provide fans access to player interviews, press conferences and practice videos, all of which would have been available through other social platforms like Google Plus, Facebook Live or YouTube Live. However, the partnership gives fans access to content in one place and notifies them when new content is posted.
It is the first deal of its kind between a major professional sports franchise and a streaming service, according to the company.
“With the increasing popularity of soccer in the United States, there’s an appetite for this kind of content,” said Pedro Duarte, Sportle’s Head of International and former executive with Real Madrid.
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Adam Shaw, Sportle Co-Founder, explained that since the Unites States doesn’t have one or two European-based soccer clubs that fans have gravitated toward, it is truly a “blank slate” for international soccer teams. Along with AC Milan, other clubs such as Manchester United (England) and Bayern Munich (Germany) also have established American-based offices to further solidify their U.S. presence over the past five years.
Shaw compared the deal with AC Milan to the Atlanta Braves partnership with TBS that stretched almost 35 years. The relationship allowed the Braves to reach a new and wider audience and as a result, helped the franchise build a more loyal fan base.
“There really isn’t a European team who has managed to win the hearts for the American sports fan,” he added. “Over the past 5-10 years because of the success of USA at the World Cup and more games being available here, there is a heightened interest in European football clubs.
“What there isn’t right now, I think anyway, are those one or two teams that are the Dallas Cowboys or the New York Yankees of of the U.S. We think we have the ability to really highlight the teams and other elements that fans will care about: personalities behind the teams, the press conferences, the practices, other stories. It’s a platform that is going to reach a young audience and a very passionate sports audience, most of whom at this point don’t have an allegiance yet. They’re in those formative years where those allegiances can happen.”
In addition to AC Milan, Duarte said that Sportle is currently having discussions with other major international soccer franchises to secure similar deals. In an ideal world, the company hopes its team partnerships will lead to even larger and more lucrative conversations with leagues and cable companies, so fans can access games on-demand within the app. While that is optimistic, the new deal with AC Milan is a start.