LALIGA and the Global Sports Innovation Center powered by Microsoft (GSIC) have extended their collaboration on technology to counter audiovisual piracy, one of the challenges facing the sports industry.
Announced on 22 July 2026 in Valencia, the continued collaboration builds on a relationship that dates to 2018, when LALIGA and GSIC began working together on open innovation programmes intended to identify, connect and accelerate technology for the sports industry.
Among these initiatives is The Original Inspiration Centre by LALIGA supported by GSIC, a global startup competition run by GSIC. Its objective was to identify technological developments in areas including media, fan engagement, smart venues, sports performance, big data, artificial intelligence and audiovisual piracy. The programme attracted startups internationally and connected companies with collaboration and pilot opportunities within the LALIGA ecosystem.
LALIGA will remain linked to the Anti-Piracy Technology Observatory, an initiative from GSIC and Microsoft that aims to connect sports organisations, rights holders, startups and technology companies working on the protection of audiovisual content.
The Observatory was presented in April at the PEAK Las Vegas Conference, where LALIGA participated, set out the content-protection challenges facing the industry and connected with technologies focused on audiovisual piracy. According to the organisations, some of these connections have already led to pilots and discussions with technology companies, reflecting GSIC’s role as a link between the needs of sports organisations and the technologies capable of addressing them.
Through the Observatory, LALIGA will continue to work with companies from the GSIC ecosystem to identify technologies that can contribute to the detection, prevention and countering of audiovisual piracy, and to the protection of the value of audiovisual rights in sport.
José Ignacio Carrillo de Albornoz, institutional audiovisual anti-fraud manager at LALIGA, has confirmed his participation as a speaker at GSIC Summit Valencia 2026, which takes place on 7 and 8 October in Valencia. He will join a panel examining how the sports ecosystem is addressing the challenges of audiovisual piracy and the role technology can play in protecting content and the business models linked to sport.
LALIGA said its participation in the Anti-Piracy Technology Observatory reinforces a shared commitment to a more protected, sustainable and innovative sports industry, capable of responding to the illegal distribution of content across digital environments.
