Plazamedia is expanding its international new-media business. For US internet company Bluelake Media, the service provider is producing video streams of Germany’s first and second football leagues. Japanese rights holder Softbank is receiving video clips of every match prepared by Plazamedia for mobile devices. Alongside its entry into the North American and Asian markets, the company is continuing its existing cooperation with Brazilian telecommunications company Terra Networks. International marketing of the Bundesliga rights is being handled in cooperation with sports-rights marketer Sportfive.
“In our New Media division, we produce up to 150 different products for the internet and mobile devices on each Bundesliga weekend. Plazamedia deploys around 75 employees to produce image and video MMS, mobile TV and internet streams,” explains managing director Florian Nowosad. He sees growing international demand for Germany’s Bundesliga.
US company Bluelake Media will obtain footage from every first- and second-division Bundesliga match from Plazamedia and make it available to customers via video streaming on its internet video portal http://www.seefootie.com. Internet users can therefore watch complete matches shortly after the final whistle or view the highlights later. This also allows Germany coach Jürgen Klinsmann to follow matches involving German national-team players from his adopted home in California. In the Asian market, Plazamedia is supplying Japanese rights holder and licensee Softbank with 60-second summaries of every first-division Bundesliga fixture. The segments are voiced in English for the Japanese market and can be watched on mobile phones by Japanese football fans over Sunday breakfast or on the way to work on Monday.
In Brazil, as in the previous year, the TV service provider is not only licensing Bundesliga rights to Terra Networks but also supplying the Brazilian broadband internet provider with summaries of every first-division match for the internet and mobile devices.
