Eleven Sports is a multinational sports and entertainment media group. Headquartered in the United Kingdom, it is owned by Andrea Radrizzani's sports and media investment platform Aser Ventures.
Eleven Sports' business model initially centred around the acquisition of major international sports rights in smaller countries. The company operates a network of linear television and/or digital services, broadcasting a mix of premium, niche-premium, longtail and grassroots sports as well as original programming, and provides
SaaS
Software as a service (SaaS ) is a software licensing and delivery model in which software is licensed on a subscription basis and is centrally hosted. SaaS is also known as "on-demand software" and Web-based/Web-hosted software.
SaaS is co ...
livestreaming
Livestreaming is streaming media simultaneously recorded and broadcast in real-time over the internet. It is often referred to simply as streaming. Non-live media such as video-on-demand, vlogs, and YouTube videos are technically streamed, but ...
services. The US based global media company
Team Whistle is also part of the Eleven group.
History
Eleven Sports first launched in
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...
and
Luxembourg
Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small land ...
in 2015 with a linear and OTT service.
In February 2016, Eleven Sports acquired Polish rights to
Formula One
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship ...
. In July 2016, Eleven Sports acquired rights to the
English Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
in
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northe ...
. Both of the properties were marketed by Radrizzani's sister company MP & Silva.
On 16 March 2017, Eleven Sports announced that it had acquired "certain distribution assets" of the fledgling U.S. international sports channel
One World Sports, which had been replaced by a U.S. version of Eleven Sports Network in advance of the announcement. Financial details of the sale were not disclosed.
In May 2017, Eleven Sports acquired a majority share of Italian provider Sportube, which was renamed in September of that year. As of 2021, Eleven Sports Italy offers
Serie C
The Serie C () is the third-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie B and Serie A. The Lega Italiana Calcio Professionistico (Lega Pro) is the governing body that runs the Serie C.
The unification of the Lega ...
,
volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...
,
waterpolo
Water polo is a competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the ball into the opposing team's goal. The team with the ...
, handball, basketball and more to fans.
On 9 January 2018, Eleven announced that it would televise 120 games in the
2017–18 NBA G League season
The 2017–18 NBA G League season was the 17th season of the NBA G League (formerly the NBA D-League), the minor league for the National Basketball Association (NBA). It is the first season after the league rebranded to become the NBA G League as ...
in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...
.
In May 2018, Eleven Sports secured a three-year deal to broadcast
La Liga
The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...
football matches in the UK and Ireland, which had been previously broadcast on
Sky Sports
Sky Sports is a group of British subscription sports channels operated by the satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It h ...
. Two months later, they secured exclusive UK three-year deals to screen
Serie A
The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Copp ...
matches, previously broadcast by
BT Sport
BT Sport is a group of pay television sports channels in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Owned by Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe and BT Group, they first launched on 1 August 2013. The channels are based at the former International Broad ...
, the
Eredivisie
The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is ...
and the
Chinese Super League
The Chinese Football Association Super League, commonly known as Chinese Super League or CSL, currently known as the China Ping An Chinese Football Association Super League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest tier of professional football in ...
(both previously televised by
Sky Sports
Sky Sports is a group of British subscription sports channels operated by the satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It h ...
) and Sweden's
Allsvenskan
Allsvenskan (; en, the All-Swedish, also known as Fotbollsallsvenskan, en, the Football All-Swedish) is a Swedish professional league for men's association football clubs. It was founded in 1924 and is the top tier of the Swedish football le ...
but in January 2019, Eleven Sports dropped its rights to Serie A and Eredivisie football, passing on the rights to
Premier Sports. Premier Sports also won the rights to the Chinese Super League and Swedish Allsvenskan, leaving Eleven with exclusive La Liga, Segunda Division play-offs, Copa del Rey, and Supercopa rights until at least the end of the season. Radrizzani later admitted that the attempt to expand into Britain was a "mistake", as it was difficult to compete with or secure cooperation from the existing duopoly of Sky and BT.
Also in May 2018, Eleven sold a 50% stake in its Polish operations to
Telewizja Polsat for around €38 million.
In 2018, Eleven Sports launched services in Myanmar under the brand MY Sports, which broadcasts fixtures of
Myanmar national team, U-23, U-21, U-18 teams and also exclusively broadcast
Myanmar National League
The MPT Myanmar National League ( my, မြန်မာ နေရှင်နယ် လိဂ်; abbreviated MNL) is the premier national professional football league of Myanmar. In 2009, the league replaced the Myanmar Premier League, which co ...
,
General Aung San Shield,
Serie A
The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Copp ...
,
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competit ...
and
Chinese Super League
The Chinese Football Association Super League, commonly known as Chinese Super League or CSL, currently known as the China Ping An Chinese Football Association Super League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest tier of professional football in ...
. They also have partnerships with
MRTV-4
MRTV-4 (Myanmar Radio and Television- 4) is a Burmese television channel jointly operated by MRTV and the Forever Group. Launched in May 2004, the channel broadcasts between 7am and 11pm. Since that time, it is only available to viewers with s ...
, Channel 7,
MRTV, Mizzima TV and Fortune TV for broadcasting football matches under MY Sports.
In March 2019, Eleven renewed its rights to Formula One in Poland through 2022, also sub-licensing highlights to Polsat and race replays to
TVP. It also launched services in Japan as its eleventh market, streaming games from
NPB Farm League teams with associated digital coverage. In July 2019, nearly the remainder of Eleven Sports Poland was sold to Polsat, with Radrizzani maintaining a single share.
In June 2020, Eleven acquired rights to
Pro League,
Division B, and Women's
Super League
The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of ...
football in Belgium through the 2024–25 season, and later announced a partnership with
Mediapro for the rights as part of a larger series of projects.
In August 2020, the company announced a repositioning referred to as "Eleven 2.0", including a refocus (initially in Belgium, Italy, and Portugal) to include more "premium" sports rights, and also launching new verticals for women's sports, local sports ("Eleven Next"), and
esports. A new logo rebranding the broadcaster as "Eleven" was also introduced.
In October 2020, Eleven acquired rights to the
Football Association of Thailand
The Football Association of Thailand under Patronage of His Majesty the King ( th, สมาคมกีฬาฟุตบอลแห่งประเทศไทย ในพระบรมราชูปถัมภ์), or FA Thailand for s ...
for the remainder of the calendar year.
In November 2020, Eleven acquired
MyCujoo
MyCujoo was a video streaming platformPaul Nicholson"AFC rolls out live streaming platform as media and marketing workshops gather pace" ''Inside World Football'', 29 July 2016. providing live and on-demand broadcast of football matches, sports ...
, which was integrated in 2021 to form a larger consumer streaming business.
In March 2021, Eleven acquired
Team Whistle, an American digital media company focused on sports-related content.
In April 2022, Eleven announced that they would be supporting the delivery of the
FIFA OTT platform FIFA+.
In September 2022,
DAZN
DAZN ( "da zone") is a global sports entertainment platform. Different to traditional linear and satellite broadcasting, DAZN is an over-the-top (OTT) streaming service meaning that it is delivered directly to viewers via the internet.
The ...
announced that it would acquire Eleven's sports media businesses; the purchase will expand its presence in Asia and Western Europe.
Programming
Sports rights
Content listed on the global platform can typically be watched by users regardless of location. Noted sports rights held by Eleven Sports include:
Channels and divisions
*
Eleven Sports (UK and Ireland)
Eleven Sports UK & Ireland was a video streaming service that launched in August 2018. It was part of the Eleven Sports Group which is owned by Andrea Radrizzani.
History
In May 2018, Eleven Sports secured a three-year deal to broadcast La ...
*
Eleven Sports (Portugal)
*
Eleven Sports (Global)
Notes
See also
*
Next Level Sports, formerly Eleven Sports' outlet in the United States
References
{{reflist
Mass media companies established in 2015
Sports television channels in the United Kingdom
Television networks in Belgium
Television networks in Italy
Television networks in Taiwan
Television networks in Portugal