For decades, bars have been one of the great alternatives to the unique experience of watching a live football match. They have earned it hard for its social component, the possibility of exchanging impressions with others while leafing through a newspaper and enjoying a good coffee or a beer and, above all, the incentive of celebrating goals and victories – or digesting the defeats- in company.
Watching football at the bar is, for many, a tradition that they don’t want to skip. Of course, not everything goes, and the quality of the broadcasts is key. The fans who come to these venues hope to enjoy LaLiga Santander and LaLiga SmartBank matches without cuts or interruptions, and with a clear conscience knowing that they are not collaborating with the mafias that profit from piracy and that harm not only to the entire cultural sector but to all of society in general.
The legal battle against piracy is being fought in bars, but also in the rest of the HORECA channel establishments (hotels, restaurants and cafes) that, in an exercise of unfair competition, decide to broadcast football fraudulently. One of the great purposes of LaLiga is, precisely, to combat the latter.
A transversal work, which involves two of its subsidiaries such as LaLiga Tech and LaLiga Servicios Digitales and departments such as Integrity and Legal, among others. Since last December 29, Spain finally has a legal framework, which places it “at the forefront of the fight against piracy”, in the words of the director of operations of LaLiga Content Protection – the subsidiary company of LaLiga Tech aimed at the protection of content from LaLiga and third parties around the world –, Emilio Fernández del Castillo.
Not in vain, beyond LaLiga’s contribution to combating piracy in football, thanks to the selfless transfer of its artificial intelligence tool Lumière to the Ministry of Culture, it is also helping to reduce the percentage of access to illicit content – from music, movies and series to video games, books and scores – in Spain. Specifically, and according to data from the Observatory of Piracy and Digital Content Consumption Habits, the decrease was 19% in 2020.
This goal by the squad against piracy occurred within the framework of “an important match”, as admitted by the general director of LaLiga Tech, Miguel Ángel Leal. In this duel against piracy, LaLiga’s technological subsidiary is achieving a removal rate of illegal content “often above 90%.” It is a clear victory. The objective is to continue winning in all scenarios such as in bars that broadcast football without the corresponding license.
The experience acquired in its three years of operation has allowed LaLiga Servicios Digitales to lead a fight that it shares with other players in the sector such as Mediapro, distributor of the audiovisual rights of LaLiga Santander and LaLiga SmartBank in restaurants, hotels and cafes. It is precisely in the HORECA channel where “the knowledge” resides, which, according to its director, Jaime Plaza, “makes it possible to quickly identify a phenomenon that is not homogeneous, but that in these last three seasons has been reduced by almost a 70%”, thanks to the ability to visit and validate around 50,000 establishments annually.
All this thanks to the work of a team of more than a hundred people who, day after day, verify thousands of establishments throughout the country. Because, unfortunately, as LaLiga Servicios Digitales confirms, no one – “from the tavern in the most remote town to the sports bar with the most screens in a large capital” – is exempt from piracy: “The only verifiable pattern is that it decreases in those places where they feel more controlled and, therefore, less unpunished.”
The work methodology of the hundred LaLiga Servicios Digitales verifiers is based on their division throughout the national geography into one hundred plots and, more importantly, on the interpretation of a constantly updated database. “That is where our strength lies,” adds Plaza. In this way, and as happens with the blocking of pirate websites and IP addresses, artificial intelligence has also become the best ally to eradicate possible bad practices by bars and restaurants when broadcasting football.
Based on the data and infractions collected by the verifiers in each of the one hundred plots and other variables (such as the audience data for each party distributed “geographically”, the population density and the concentration of premises) , an algorithm generates a series of patterns that allow the routes of each inspector to be planned and “redirected” based on the needs and movements that are detected. “We also have defined high-density clubs and matches, both at the national and regional level. The parceling model gives us flexibility, allowing us to reinforce the network of verifiers at certain times, such as, for example, in ElClásico,” explains Plaza.
It is precisely this living and constantly evolving methodology that allows LaLiga to be increasingly effective in detecting this type of infractions. A key moment for this is “during the first half of each season.” It is then when they must ensure that correct coverage is produced and determine in which areas “there is more potential” for commissions to be committed “in order to stop that signal” and “inform them that they must stop illegal emissions or regularize their situation if “They want to broadcast our games.”
This information process takes place once the inspection is completed. During their activity, the verifiers do not interrupt the activity of the premises. “They simply go to the bar, check the sign, verify the premises and in case that irregularity is being committed, they collect the evidence, and they leave.” Immediately afterwards, it is the regularization area of ??LaLiga Servicios Digitales that is responsible for contacting the business manager by letter and by telephone to inform him that he is violating intellectual property rights.
The LaLiga Digital Services team has the collaboration of Mediapro, which also denounces the negative effects of fraudulent broadcasting in these establishments. “The most important thing,” highlights the Marketing Manager of LaLigaTV Bar, Carlos Pallarés, is that these activities allow the “large networks” that are manufacturing and distributing illegal decoders to profit. Furthermore, this practice “represents unfair competition for the other bars that are paying to have football.”
In their desire to contribute to the eradication of irregular broadcasts, the distributor of LaLiga’s audiovisual rights in hospitality establishments has developed the Futbar application, which seeks to help the owner of the establishment to get the most out of football in their home. local, and also raise awareness among fans so that they enjoy the atmosphere and experience of watching football only in official bars that broadcast the LaLigaTV Bar signal.
They make it easy for the fan. To know if the establishment where you are watching football (regardless of whether it is a restaurant, an inn, a cafe or a hotel) is broadcasting the game legally, just take a look at the screen. There you will find the signal of the LaLigaTV Bar channel, along with a fly, a badge with a B (with slight variations in design and typography depending on the operator) that ensure that this establishment has a “bar” license.
That was the main objective of Futbar, to be an application with which the fan could “locate places where they can watch football in a stable and quality manner,” explains Pallarés. However, it has ended up becoming a “loyalty” program that has been adding initiatives “both for the fans themselves and for the premises with a legal license”, which it aims to help make their premises profitable, he adds.
In addition to being able to consult the closest bars where the LaLigaTV Bar signal is legally broadcast and where other fans of the same club meet, Futbar users can also benefit from different advantages and prizes that can range from free drinks, refunds for tickets scanned and even signed balls and shirts. The objective is none other than to encourage consumption in legal bars so that they can “get the most out of the service” by contracting football through LaLigaTV Bar.
In this way, these stores become available in an app through which they can share advantages and promotions of their establishments, in addition to opening the door to beneficial commercial actions with brands related to the sector. “Fans can upload their tickets at Futbar stores and, in this way, obtain economic refunds, both for customers and establishments.” According to data from Mediapro, the average ticket amounts to “about 13 euros”, depending on the type of venue.
Another benefit for the owners is the time redistribution of the matches, which ensures the transit of clients distributed in various slots throughout the weekend. “Only with the main LaLiga Santander clubs is it already profitable for a bar to contract football,” adds Pallarés, who does not consider that the new post-pandemic habits will end the widespread habit of going down to the bar to watch the game.
“According to our data, more than 40% of customers who watch football in the bar also have a residential subscription. Therefore, it is not just about watching the game, but the fan who watches football in the bar also looks for atmosphere and socializing,” he concludes. It is one of those old customs that neither time, nor circumstances, nor the all-powerful social networks have managed to bury, because few things connect us as much with our loved ones – and help us disconnect from the rest – as the fact of getting together to watch the football in the bar.
