Advanced Television

Eleven Sports launching UK sports channels

July 13, 2018

Global sports provider Eleven Sports has announced a strategic partnership with IMG in the UK and Ireland for the launch of two new sports channels that will include exclusive rights to Serie A football as well as every match from La Liga.

Eleven Sports 1 and Eleven Sports 2 will launch via an online streaming platform this August in the UK and Ireland with more premium rights to be announced soon.

Eleven Sports has secured Serie A rights, Italy’s top flight football league, on a three-year agreement starting with the upcoming 2018/19 season. The announcement follows the platform’s entry into the market in May with the acquisition of rights to La Liga, Spain’s top flight football league, for the next three seasons.

IMG’s experience and expertise in global media rights and broadcast production will provide backing for Eleven Sports’ offer in the UK and Ireland.

“The partnership with IMG strengthens Eleven Sports’ position as a major player in the UK and Ireland,” said Marc Watson, Executive Chairman and Group CEO, Eleven Sports. “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,” said Adam Kelly, Senior Vice President, Worldwide Sales, IMG Media. “Going direct to consumer is a natural evolution of our overall business and very much part of our strategy to search for new commercial avenues for our clients.”

Eleven Sports 1 will be 100 per cent football showcasing some of the biggest leagues, best teams and leading players; and Eleven Sports 2 will provide premium fight sports, eSports and extreme sports for dedicated fans, plus football overspill from Eleven Sports 1. IMG will produce the output for both channels from its production HQ at Stockley Park.

Four live Event channels that ‘pop up’ to prevent schedule clashes and enabling fans to access several simultaneous matches at one time will also be utilised. Fans will also have access to LaLigaTV on Eleven Sports – the 24/7 in-house channel which features documentaries, magazine shows and other exclusive La Liga content.

The new services will be available on Eleven’s soon-to-be-launched online streaming platform, ensuring it is easily accessible without the need for set top boxes, bundled packages or contracts. Pricing will be announced soon.

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