Facebook TV: Facebook To Stream Its First Live Football Match

written by: Gianluigi Cuccureddu

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Published on Wednesday, 17 August 2011 16:10

Facebook is to stream its first live football match, demonstrating the increasing power of social media in the eyes of brands as reported by Marketingmagazine. They have teamed up with Budweiser to broadcast the opening FA Cup tie live. The game is the opening match of this year’s FA Cup, a preliminary round match between two minnows of the football world,  Ascot United and Wembley. Marketingmagazine continues:

The match will be played on Friday (August 19) at 7.45pm. The streaming of the match comes courtesy of a commercial deal between the FA, its lead sponsor Budweiser, and Facebook.

Budweiser anticipates that the match will attract a global audience, although the two clubs are not household names, even in the UK.

Football fans will be able to watch the game at the Budweiser fan page, www.facebook.com/BudweiserUK, on Facebook. The live streaming is available only to people aged 18 and over, claims Budweiser.

Iain Newell, Marketing Director of Budweiser UK said the company:

“is committed to bringing the world’s most prestigious knockout competition closer to the fans.  What better way to demonstrate this than by broadcasting the very first kick to a global audience via Facebook. This is the first time a FA Cup tournament fixture has been broadcast live on the social network, which is great news for football fans and clubs alike.”

The Guardian reports on Mike Harrison, Ascot United chairman:

"To be involved in the first game of the FA Cup this season is an honour in itself, but to be part of a world first and have our match broadcast to a massive global audience is fantastic for our club."