Dugout signs first OTT partnership with Fanatiz

Dugout has today announced a landmark new partnership with streaming platform Fanatiz, as the company enters the OTT streaming market for the first time.

Dugout’s inaugural live streaming partnership will complement Fanatiz’s current OTT offering and strengthen Dugout’s position in the football market. Dugout’s live, behind-the-scenes and archive footage will now be amplified to Fanatiz’s audience throughout North, South and Latin America via its embed player.

The recently launched Dugout Live streaming service will provide Fanatiz with streaming opportunities from some of the biggest clubs on desktops, mobiles and on Apple TV, Roku, Chromecast and Amazon Fire TV.

Fanatiz’s existing rights portfolio includes La Liga, Superliga Argentina, Copa Libertadores, Copa Sudamericana and Copa Argentina, among others, and has recently acquired rights to Brasileirão, the Brazilian top-flight league. Users will now have access to Dugout’s portfolio on both the free and paid-for platforms to complement the streaming platform’s current live and on-demand offering.

Founded by some of the biggest football teams, Dugout has since partnered with more than 100+ clubs, and reaches 85 million average monthly users. This new OTT partnership continues Dugout’s recent growth in the Americas following partnerships with a host of the region’s largest media publishers and clubs including Sports Illustrated, Mexican powerhouse Tigres UANL, iconic Brazilian side Flamengo, as well as ties with the MLS and NWSL.

Elliot Richardson, chairman and co-founder at Dugout, said: “Signing our first OTT partner is a landmark moment for Dugout and its embed player, as this represents a unique opportunity to deliver international football content via the Dugout’s VOD and LIVE product. We have seen substantial interest in all of our products over recent months and driving growth to gain a foothold in the OTT market will be a key strategic focus ahead of the new season starting.

“Fanatiz are an innovative and dynamic OTT platform and through our future close working relationship we will continue to grow our audiences in North, South and Latin America. This new collaboration will benefit both our partner clubs and football fans throughout the Americas.”

Fanatiz founder and chief executive officer, Matias Rivera, added: “We are delighted to partner with Dugout and bring our audiences closer to the world’s best teams through live, behind-the-scenes and archive content.

“This partnership will enable us to substantially grow our content offering and we look forward to working together to offer a new dimension to our OTT platform through new live streaming opportunities.”