iWorld
Laliga lands on facebook in indian subcontinent
MUMBAI: In a first-of-a-kind agreement, LaLiga and Facebook today announced that the platform will become the official home for all LaLiga Santander matches in the Indian subcontinent.
The three-season deal commences with the 2018/19 campaign kicking off on Aug. 17. All 380 first division matches of Spain’s topflight football league will be available for free to people on Facebook in eight countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Maldives, Sri Lanka and Pakistan.
The move marks a new dawn in sports broadcasting, bringing LaLiga and its clubs closer to fans than ever before. The Facebook community in the eight countries will be able to watch LaLiga Santander coverage on a live and on- demand basis via multiple devices. Every match will be available on the official LaLiga Facebook Page as well as individual club Pages.
Fans will be closer to the action than ever before, with the opportunity to watch matches on the go and engage directly with the broadcast. For major matches, viewers in the region will be treated to interactive studio coverage hosted by one of the subcontinent’s faces of football, Joe Morrison.
Analysis will be provided by a pool of experts including former Real Madrid defender and four time LaLiga champion Michel Salgado, as well as former Barcelona and Atletico Madrid midfielder Luis Garcia.
In addition to the live matches, shoulder programming, including a full range of weekly preview shows and highlights, will be offered.
LaLiga features the world’s best players and the world’s best clubs. The league prides itself in being at the forefront of broadcast innovation, delivering many hours of sporting spectacle to millions of viewers every matchday. Now with Facebook, LaLiga has broken new ground, signing its first broadcast agreement ever with a social media platform.
LaLiga President Javier Tebas hailed the agreement: “We are thrilled to team up with Facebook to bring the millions of LaLiga fans in the Indian subcontinent even closer to the action. LaLiga sets the standard for football in the world and we are delighted that more people than ever before will have the opportunity to watch our matches live and for free through Facebook in the region.”
Peter Hutton, Facebook Head of Global Live Sports Programming added “As home to the two most-followed sports clubs on Facebook and some of the world’s most iconic footballers, LaLiga has a huge global presence on our platform. Its popularity is notably visible in the Indian subcontinent, so we’re delighted to be able to serve the community of fans there with free, live LaLiga matches for the next three seasons. We see this as a great opportunity to not only bring people together around world-class football, but also help LaLiga reach new audiences and grow its visibility in a key development market.”
Gaming
Sony raises PS5 prices for second time in under a year
US disc edition jumps $100 to $649.99 as memory costs surge.
MUMBAI: Sony just hit the pause button on affordable gaming because when memory prices skyrocket, even the Playstation has to pay the premium. Sony has announced its second price increase for the Playstation 5 range in less than a year, citing pressures in the global economic landscape and a sharp rise in memory component costs driven by AI demand.
In the US, the PS5 disc edition will rise from $549.99 to $649.99, a $100 hike while the digital edition increases to $599.99. The more powerful PS5 Pro will jump $150 to $899.99. The Playstation Portal remote player will also rise by $50 to $249.99. The new prices take effect on 2 April 2026.
Similar increases have been applied in the UK (£90 per model), Europe and Japan. Sony last raised PS5 prices in the US in August 2025.
“We know that price changes impact our community, and after careful evaluation, we found this was a necessary step to ensure we can continue delivering innovative, high-quality gaming experiences to players worldwide,” Sony said in a blog post.
The hikes come amid an unprecedented surge in memory prices, as manufacturers prioritise supply for AI data centres. Analysts say Sony had likely secured price protections for components that have now expired, forcing the company to protect its hardware margins.
Ampere Analysis research director of games Piers Harding-Rolls told CNBC that further increases from Microsoft and Nintendo would not be surprising, though Nintendo may hesitate to raise the price of its recently launched Switch 2 while establishing the new platform.
The increases arrive eight months before the highly anticipated release of GTA 6, which is expected to drive strong console sales. However, early reactions online have been a mix of disappointment and resignation, with growing concern that premium gaming is increasingly becoming a hobby for higher-income players.
In a sector already grappling with tariffs, inflation and component shortages, Sony’s move underscores a tough reality: even the most popular consoles are not immune to the rising cost of keeping up with the latest technology.
