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Spain's La Liga reshapes culture to ensure friendlier game times for Asian fans
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La Liga global network’s delegate for Indonesia Rodrigo Gallego talks at a press briefing on the kick-off of the Spanish league's 2019/2020 season in Jakarta on Sept. 3. (JP/Ramadani Saputra)
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n its attempt to penetrate the Asian market, including Indonesia, Spanish soccer league La Liga is aware that one challenge it faces is the culture of how Spaniards enjoy the sport.
As an example, La Liga global network delegate for Indonesia Rodrigo Gallego said soccer matches were usually broadcast at 9 p.m. Spanish local time, which meant that the broadcast time in Asia was inconvenient for the league’s fans in the region.
“In England, as another example, they have lunch at 12 p.m., [while] we have it at 3 p.m. or 4 p.m.. Culturally and historically, soccer in Spain has been played at 9 p.m., while in England it is played at 4 p.m.,” he said at a press conference in Jakarta on Tuesday.
“That’s why for twenty years, in Asia you have been able to watch the Premiere League at a really good time. This is one of the biggest challenges we have to face but we are trying now to understand that we are not a national league but also a global league,” he said.
With that in mind, the Spanish league has been working on its perspective in penetrating the Asian market.
La Liga will broadcast four to five matches per day at Asian prime time this 2019/2020 season.
Gallego said La Liga had been getting more competitive in the last 10 years as the gap between big clubs like Barcelona and Real Madrid and small clubs was closer, which made the league more interesting. The use of technology such as Video Assistant Referee (VAR) also helped to put the league at the center of attention, as in the last season VAR helped to increase the correct decision rate to 96.92 percent in 2018/2019 from 91.5 percent in the previous season.
