Yahoo Finance London firm DAZN crowned Europe’s biggest sports streaming rights holder after buying rival Eleven
Sports streaming service DAZN has agreed a deal to buy rival broadcaster Eleven Group, making DAZN the largest holder of European sports rights.
Although the financial terms of the transaction have not been made public, a source close to the deal said it was worth around two times Eleven’s revenues of $300 million.
Hammersmith-based DAZN holds the rights to a number of boxing fixtures, as well as the UEFA Women’s Champions League.
Eleven broadcast more than 65,000 hours of live sports programming over the last year, and buying the company expands DAZN’s capabilities in the sports streaming sector and gives it access to new territories.
In particular, it becomes a market leader in football coverage in Portugal and Belgium, as well as in Italy and Spain where it already holds top tier domestic football rights.
Eleven also has a presence in Taiwan and other South East Asian markets, giving DAZN a greater foothold in the region.
It also hopes the purchase will help it reach younger audiences via social media.
The deal adds around $300 million a year to DAZN’s revenues.
Shay Segev, CEO of DAZN Group, said: “The acquisition adds scale to our business. It is a big step forward in our mission to be the leading global sports platform.”
Marc Watson, CEO Eleven Group, said joining DAZN would allow the company to access greater economies of scale.
DAZN has ambitions to not only offer live and on-demand sport, but to give users the opportunity to listen to and read about sport, play games and bet, as well as buy sporting non-fungible tokens, tickets, and merchandise.
Upon completion of the deal, Andrea Radrizzani, Eleven’s founder and owner of Leeds United football club, will join DAZN’s board as an executive director.
