MillerCoors-owned Miller Lite is letting users watch their favorite soccer matches on their handsets as part of a bigger partnership with Mexican soccer team Club Deportivo Guadalajara.

Miller Lite has partnered with NBCUniversal?s Telemundo on an initiative that will stream games to sports fans by accessing a mobile Web site. As part of the deal, Miller Lite will run ads during the live games.

"We understand the Hispanic market and the trends behind their media consumption," said Alberto Senior, brand manager of Miller Lite Hispanic at MillerCoors, Chicago.

"We set out to make it as easy as possible to provide our legal-aged consumers with content that they have a passion for, such as the Chivas de Guadalajara games," he said.

"We are proud sponsors of the most followed team in Mexico and strive to connect our consumers with their favorite team no matter where they are via their smartphones."

Virtual fans
Users can access the live games by typing http://msnlatino.telemundo.com/deportes into their mobile broswers.

The games will be streamed throughout the season, including matches on March 24, April 7 and April 21.

Users can also watch short video clips and recaps via the mobile Web site.

Miller Lite is running mobile ads above the video content that direct users to Miller Lite?s mobile site.

Additionally, Miller Lite will run video ads throughout the game at the beginning, half-time and end of the games.

On the mobile site, users can watch videos, download the company?s mobile applications, ?like? the brand on Facebook and find Miller Lite products nearby using their device?s GPS.

Miller Lite will also be creating a Facebook page for users in the United States this spring to interact with the Chivas soccer team.

Mobile gulp
Mobile video can be a powerful marketing channel because it encompasses the entire screen and forces users to stay in a moment with a piece of content.

For example, a recent Nielsen Co. study recently found that 30 million consumers watch TV on their devices (see story).

The Telemundo initiative is the latest mobile initiative from Miller Lite as the sponsored beer of the Chivas soccer team that is aimed at connecting with Latin sports fans digitally.

Last year, Miller Lite began placing SMS calls to action on Chiva-themed products that let users enter to win prizes.

For a beer manufacturer such as Miller-Coors, mobile is a natural way to connect sports fans with the brand with the one device that is always on them ? their mobile phones.

Additionally, Miller Lite?s key demographic is young, tech-savvy males and likely depend on their mobile devices to watch sports content and stay up to date with sports news.

"We are leveraging our partnership with the Chivas and bringing their live games to our consumers via the one device that most have with them all the time, essentially going one step further than being able to watch the game on your televisions," Mr. Senior said.

Final Take
Lauren Johnson is editorial assistant on Mobile Marketer, New York