Update (02/19/2023) – RB
After announcing the purchase of the competitor at the end of September 2022, DAZN completed the acquisition of Eleven Sports over the last week. Now, the streaming platform owns not only the Eleven Group business, but also the social media agency Team Whistle – based in the United States.
By acquiring the rival, DAZN intends to expand its catalog of broadcasting rights, mainly in relation to football tournaments in Europe. The portfolio now has tournaments in countries such as Belgium, Portugal and Taiwan, along with others already present, such as Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Canada, USA and United Kingdom.
In addition to viewing live sports, the purchase will also bring other products and services. Among them are games, e-commerce platform and other social experiences. Importantly, Team Whistle has over 700 million followers across all channels, as well as a distribution network with five billion monthly views.
“Today is a huge moment as we officially welcome ELEVEN and Team Whistle into the DAZN family. This acquisition is an important element of our continued growth – acquiring high quality rights, expanding into new markets in Belgium, Portugal and Taiwan and building on our social reach and engagement by bringing Team Whistle’s network and expertise to DAZN. Overall, the deal adds scale and firmly establishes DAZN as a global leader in innovation and disruption, as well as positioning us as the top destination for sports content.”
Shay Segev
CEO of DAZN Group
In Europe, both DAZN and Eleven Sports have their own platforms for distributing sports content. There are still no details about a possible merger of both services.
So, what do you expect from the acquisition of Eleven by DAZN? Comment with us!
Original text (09/28/2022)
DAZN buys Eleven Sports, looks to resume growth in global streaming
After creating its own studio for the production of original content, DAZN made an important acquisition to regain strength in the streaming market. The company bought competitor Eleven Sports this Tuesday (27) and has now expanded its catalog of broadcasting rights globally.
The deal will put DAZN in more markets across Europe and Asia, as well as becoming the top domestic broadcaster of top-flight football in countries such as Portugal and Belgium. The platform is also gaining strength in Poland, Hong Kong and Taiwan, where it joins other locations such as Germany, Italy, Spain and Japan.
Currently, DAZN’s event portfolio encompasses combat sports and the UEFA Women’s Champions League (UWCL). Now joins the Asian Champions League and other titles. The deal also includes Team Whistle, a social media company, and the MyCujoo platform’s live service technology, which Eleven purchased in 2020.
“The acquisition adds scale to our business. It’s a big step forward in our mission to be the leading global sports platform. DAZN has invested in building a revolutionary digital sports platform where fans can enjoy the full range of interactive sports entertainment. We look forward to expanding these capabilities into new markets, as well as leveraging Eleven’s capabilities on DAZN.”
Shay Segev
CEO of DAZN
Eleven also has an agreement with FIFA worldwide for the production, delivery and distribution of live matches through the FIFA+ service. This should be maintained by the new owner for the future.
In Europe, Eleven closed with CBF in 2022 to broadcast Series A1, A2 and A3 of the Europeian Women’s Championship. In addition, the platform has already shown state championships this year in states such as Rio de Janeiro, Goiás, Alagoas, Rio Grande do Norte, Piauí, Distrito Federal, Espírito Santo, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul and Rondônia.
In partnership with the São Paulo Football Federation (FPF), the service also showed the São Paulo Junior Football Cup and the Paulistão A2 and A3 Series.
DAZN has not yet detailed what the future of both platforms will be like, but the trend is that the agreements already defined are fulfilled.
So, did you like the new acquisition of DAZN in the streaming market? Join us!
