The Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC) today announced a multi-year partnership with YouTube TV. YouTube TV, the new cable-free live TV service, will serve as the “Official Live TV Partner” and “Official Video Partner” of LAFC, becoming the exclusive home to watch all locally televised English-language LAFC matches. YouTube TV will also carry all nationally televised matches on ESPN, FOX and FS1. The landmark deal features the YouTube TV logo prominently displayed on the LAFC jersey. This is the first partnership of its kind in North American professional sports where all locally televised matches are on a live TV streaming provider.
The Club has a league-high 16 matches broadcast nationally on ESPN, FOX, FS1 and Univision in 2018, and will soon announce a comprehensive broadcast package featuring a local, over-the-air Spanish-language broadcast partner as well as partnerships with both English and Spanish-language radio stations prior to the start of the season.
“This truly is a historic day for our club,” LAFC Owner and President Tom Penn said. “YouTube TV is an ambitious and innovative brand that we are proud to showcase on the front of our jersey and in our community. We are excited to provide our fans with a new and creative way to watch all of LAFC’s matches in one place during our inaugural season.”
As part of the partnership, all locally televised LAFC matches will be featured on a designated YouTube TV channel in the service, in addition to original LAFC programming and content. The YouTube TV broadcasts will feature a 30-minute pre and post-game show from the YouTube TV Studio set at Banc of California Stadium. Locally televised LAFC matches will be geo-fenced and available only in the Los Angeles market on YouTube TV. Together with additional matches broadcast nationally on ESPN, FOX and FS1, YouTube TV will be the home for 30 of LAFC’s 34 English-language matches, the most across any distribution provider.
“LAFC is reimagining the sports landscape in the same innovative way we strive to reimagine the live TV experience," said YouTube Director of Sports Partnerships for the Americas Tim Katz. "We couldn’t be more excited to partner with LAFC to be the exclusive home for all locally televised matches and to share our name on the front of their jerseys.”
YouTube TV launched in April 2017 to provide audiences around the country with a new, more flexible way to enjoy their favorite live TV programming – including local sports and news – without a cable box. For $40 a month, YouTube TV includes over 50 networks. LAFC fans in Los Angeles will have access to live local feeds from KABC 7, CBS 2, KTTV FOX 11 and KNBC 4, plus popular cable networks like TNT, TBS, CNN, ESPN, AMC and FX and local sports networks such as NBC Sports and FOX Sports. YouTube TV is also expanding to all top 100 U.S. markets.
“We are at the forefront in engaging our fans on a digital, cable-free platform such as YouTube,” Penn said. “We are also committed to making our matches accessible to everyone throughout Los Angeles, and our upcoming broadcast announcements will provide comprehensive coverage of our club all over Southern California.”
YouTube TV joins Banc of California, Delta Air Lines/Aeromexico, Heineken and Toyota as LAFC’s Golden Boot Club Founding Partners. The Golden Boot Club provides exclusive access, visibility and experiences for LAFC’s most elite level of partnership.
Legends Global Sales represented LAFC in securing and negotiating LAFC’s deal with YouTube TV. Legends involvement in selling LAFC’s jersey-front partner kit and first streaming broadcast deal with YouTube TV comes on the heels of securing the historic naming rights deal for Banc of California Stadium. In addition to securing LAFC’s foundational sponsorship deals, Legends is also responsible for managing suites, ticket sales and project management for the new, state-of-the art Banc of California Stadium.
YouTube TV Includes:
- Over 50 networks, including ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, plus popular cable networks like TNT, TBS, CNN, ESPN, AMC, and FX, and local sports networks from NBC Sports, FOX Sports, and NESN in select markets.
- Ability to watch on any screen - mobile, tablet or computer - and easily streamed to your TV with apps built for Roku (new!), Apple TV (new!), Xbox One, Android TVs and Samsung and LG 2016 and 2017 smart TVs; and Chromecast, Chromecast built-in TVs, and AirPlay through Apple TV.
- A cloud DVR, with no storage space limits that travels with you within the United States so you can stream recordings on any device, whenever and wherever you want. It enables you to record live TV and never run out of storage space, plus record shows simultaneously, without using precious data or space on your phone. Your programs are stored for nine months.
- Six accounts per household, each with its own unique recommendations and personal DVR with no storage space limits.
- Half the cost of cable with zero commitments. A YouTube TV membership is only $35 a month (if you sign up before March 13) and there are no commitments – you can cancel anytime.
