Chivas unveils plans for new streaming platform

Mexican Liga MX football club Club Deportivo Guadalajara has unveiled the in-house streaming platform that will exploit the rights to all its home games from the 2016 Apertura campaign.

Along with broadcasting games, subscription-based Chivas TV will provide team training sessions, press conferences and interviews with players, coaching staff and club officials.

The club, commonly known as Chivas, has partnered with pay-television operator Televisa since 1994 but last month said this relationship would end with an in-house platform to be developed.

Stating that Chivas TV is part of an overarching plan to develop a “sustainable economic model” for the club and deliver a winning team, Chivas revealed details about the platform, including its pricing, at a presentation yesterday (Wednesday).

A variety of packages will be on offer. The top package will be priced at MXN2,750 (€131/$144) per season and will provide full access to the content on offer. Another package is priced at MXN1,550 per season, with promotional offers available from July 1-14 for these options.

Access to individual live games will also be provided on a pay-per-view basis, with prices ranging from MX125 to MX500 depending on the status of the fixture. A package priced at MX50 will also be on offer including repeats of all league and cup games.

Chivas chief executive Jose Luis Higuera admitted that the club will face challenges in introducing a new model to the Mexican sports market, but has stated Chivas is committed to the project and will not return to a television rights deal.

Commenting on television deals, he told the ESPN Deportes website: “It is very difficult to give something back to what we call player No.12 (the fans). This is a long-term project.”