Irish and UK viewers looking to watch Serie A and La Liga football next season will be able to do so from the one channel after Eleven Sports, owned by the Leeds United chairman Andrea Radrizzani, secured an exclusive three-year deal to broadcast live games of Italian football’s premier division.
The new deal ends BT Sport’s six-year association with the Serie A and follows on from the Eleven Sports’ acquisition of the exclusive live rights to show La Liga in the UK and the Republic of Ireland for three years starting from next season.
Eleven Sports will show both competitions via an online streaming platform after partnering with global sports media group IMG.
They have also secured ‘over the top’ rights for La Liga games which means they can broadcast online via a website or app for subscriber, or alternatively, they also have the right to sub-licence particular La Liga games out to other broadcasters should they wish to do so.
Eleven were also said to be considering purchasing rights to the Premier League’s F and G broadcast packages.
Package G, acquired by BT Sport, includes the rights to broadcast several fixtures from the split weekend, a new initiative that will create an opportunity for a mid-season player break while package F, acquired by Amazon Prime Video, includes the right to make available a full round of live Premier League matches.
Commenting on the acquisition of the Serie A, Marc Watson, Executive Chairman and Group CEO, ELEVEN SPORTS said:
“The partnership with IMG strengthens ELEVEN SPORTS’ position as a major player in the UK and Ireland.”
“IMG adds significant resources to our operations and they will contribute greatly to our innovative way of delivering more contemporary sports coverage that appeals to today’s audience.”
“We are excited about this new partnership with ELEVEN SPORTS and the launch of the two new sports channels in the UK and Ireland.
“ELEVEN has shown, in a relatively short time, they are an innovative and creative company and we believe our vast experience and knowledge of the sports media rights business, alongside our production expertise will play an important part in making these two new channels a big success in the UK and Ireland.”
