This summer has seen changes to the sports broadcasting landscape with over-the-top (OTT) platforms changing the way live sport is consumed as new technologies develop.
One consequence of the changing broadcast homes of those leagues will be that fans of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi will have to go through Eleven Sports to view their domestic games.
Add to that the suggestions that Eleven has also agreed deals to add the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and NBA Basketball, both also from BT, to its roster by the end of the year and its place as a sports disruptor will be secured.
Eleven Sports had roots in the U.K. before this spree of rights-grabbing, with owner Andrea Radrizziani also chairman of English soccer team Leeds United. Marc Watson, former head of TV at BT and one of the forces behind taking the Champions League and Premier League to the channel, has been overseeing the rise of the company.
It’s not just U.K. broadcasting that will look different. Serie A’s domestic coverage in Italy will also have a new home for the 2018/19 season, after Mediaset struck a deal with streaming service DAZN, an offshoot of Perform Group in the U.K., to show 114 top-flight games over the next three years.
“The sport industry is ripe for disruption. Consumer behavior has been transformed by technology, with streaming becoming the new norm for viewing content. DAZN suits the changing needs of today’s sports fans,” James Rushton, CEO of DAZN, said.
“Since launching almost two years ago, we have disrupted the industry in multiple markets as we change the way the world sees sport.”
Earlier this year, Perform struck what it called a first $1 billion deal for boxing, when it teamed up with British promoter Matchroom to stage 16 fights a year in the U.S. over an eight-year period.
Details of the deal included DAZN becoming the exclusive U.S. rights-holder for the fights, as well as being the platform for 16 other Matchroom shows from the U.K., including World Heavyweight Champion Anthony Joshua’s return at Wembley Stadium on September 22.
Another difference to DAZN’s plan, as opposed to big TV networks in America, will be to not make boxing fight nights pay-per-view; instead, all will be available to watch for a monthly fee with no long-term contract.
Source:CNBC
