Gerard Pique bets that the American audience is ready for football experience that priority entertainment because of tradition. Former Barselon defender Kings LeagueHe was launched in January 2023, is prepared to enter the American market this October as the Tocal Hybrid passed global momentum.
“I think our product is great for American audience,” Piku said in an exclusive interview Happiness in Stagwell’s sports beach In Cannes.
“There’s always a winner in American sports. There’s always a lot of shows, a lot of fun. I think if we do so in a proper way, we can have so much success.”
What is the King’s League?
Kings League is a radical re-remaking football, designed specifically for digital home audience.
The competition contains modified rules that provide games and constant action with higher points, with matches emitted live on streaming platforms such as youtube, Twitch and tttok, not traditional television.
Each of the teams in the league is owned by popular streams that have built dedicated network communities, creating what the pique describes as an unprecedented fan. The league quickly expanded from its Spanish debut, which now operates in six countries with eight different leagues and almost 100 teams in its ecosystem.
“These are people who dedicate five, six, seven hours a day to create a link, like engagement, loyalty, or artist or artist or artist or artist, or artist,” Pikue explained.
The company increased from 10-12 startup employees to more than 270 in six countries, although the specific revenue figures remain private.
Pique noted that “65-70% of our income comes from sponsor,” with the streaming model eliminates traditional broadcasting fees.
Fun for tradition
Pikue’s approach reflects the wider transition in the way sport competes for the audience’s attention.
He claims that football is now competing against major technological giants during the spectators, not to fight other sports.
“For this new children, football does not compete from basketball or tennis in terms of obtaining audience as it was in the past. Football competes against Netflix, HBO, Amazon Prime, tiktok, youtube, InstagramAll these platforms offered by the party, so the sport should have fun, “he said.
Changes to the rules of the league are dealing with what piques sees as fundamental problems with traditional football. Each match has a weekly format and only takes 40 minutes. The worms decide for pawn shootings. And each team can play “secret cards” during the game, such as suspending the opponent player from the field for four minutes or that their goals count on twice as many minutes.
“The fact that you go to (regular football) stadium, spend two hours with your children and the game ends 0-0 without winners, no goals. This is not a party,” he said. “We don’t want us to clearly compete against football … but we want to create a compliment.”
The strategy seems to act. Kings League commends that 85% of its audience under 35, and the League attracted partnerships with traditional football organizations such as Serie and to create common content.
Pique which is unfair by CopyCat Competition
Success has bred imitation.
Since the launch of king’s league, similar leagues appeared throughout Europe and Latin America, including Baler League, which has been born in Germany, and since then she has launched the main television broadcasting in the process.
Pikue says, with a smile, to welcome the competition and takes it as a compliment: “It’s great. When people copy you, it’s because you did something good.
“We are original … I think it’s because we’re original, we have a year, because all these leagues began in 2024.”
Pique claims that the advantages of the first marivove and global ecosystem “Kings League set aside from competitors.
The league operates two international tournaments – the World Cup and World Cup of Nations – which enable local streamers to compete on the global phase. The latest World Cup clubs, held in Paris in June, attracted 25,000 spectators.
“We are different from the others. If you check the numbers in social, audiences, ecosystems,” PIKUE adds. “All these leagues are still very local … We are the ones we guide and others who follow. I think it’s important to be a leader, not a follower.”
The American Market Strategy of King League Strategy
The American expansion represents the largest test of the king’s league still.
Pique recognizes the challenges of market entry that dominates the established properties of sports and entertainment.
“I think they are an amazing market now. It is obvious that it is big, great with lots of sports, it is much fun and it is expensive to market, promote and so,” he said. “So, I think we need to do that in a proper way.”
The company spent months to prepare for launch, focusing on the identification of real personalities that give fairer to serve the team owners and the development of league structure.
“We are very happy that we have a time frame and we know exactly when we will start, which is in October this year we will soon publish,” Pikue said.
Time coincides with increasing interest in football in the US, encouraged by high signatures like Lionel Messi is a move in Inter Miami– Piscua is a former teammate in Barcelona.
From the slope to the center
Pikue’s transition from the elite football player of the World Cup and the European Championships with Spain, plus eight La League titles and three champions with Barcelona in the entrepreneur have begun during their playing career.
“I launched my first company 2012,” he said, describing his attraction that “creates something new in some way, he goes out of the box and really tries to distinguish things I’ve never done things before.”
Drawing from his experiences under legendary Pep Guardiol managers and Sir Alek FergusonPique emphasizes the importance of team motivation and collective effort, which now includes its leadership style.
“The most important party IT (management) is how you motivate the team … When you have a huge challenge that is ahead, you must really work as a team, you will never achieve all the big dreams we have as a company.”
For young entrepreneurs, Pikue offers a direct advice: focusing on passions due to trends. “Just to focus on your dreams about what they’re really passionate about … It’s better if you don’t get anything else, because someone said or because it said or because it was a trend,” he said.
The rapid growth and expansion of kings, represents a significant role that sports entertainment can successfully bridge traditional athletics and digital – first content.
As PIKUE is prepared for crucial American launch, the endeavor will test whether its formula for the engagement of the younger audience can be translated through cultural and competitive limits.
“The potential is huge,” Pikua said about the American market. “It’s just a matter of time to really do it properly.”
