Global OTT streamer has reportedly opened discussions to acquire fellow international sports streaming company Eleven Sports
DAZN is said to be looking to bolster its sports rights portfolio by buying out Eleven Sports, which is based out of London and owned by Leeds United owner Andrea Radrizzani.
The organisation is divided into three sub-divisions, one in the UK and Ireland, one in Portugal, and one which operates globally. Across these markets, football fans can get access to a number of different competitions including most major leagues - the Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A, etc. Aside from football, Eleven Sports also own rights to broadcast a variety of other sports including the NFL, NBA, UFC and Formula One.
It is this huge portfolio of rights which DAZN is looking to acquire through the purchase of Eleven Sports.
Buying Eleven Sports, and subsequently taking control of the rights they hold, which in football terms are most lucrative in Belgium and Poland, would enable DAZN to grow their own stake in the sports rights market.
While this move still wouldn't get DAZN those elusive domestic Premier League rights, which are once again tied up between Sky Sports, BT Sport and Amazon Prime Video, it would represent a major coup for the streamer and put them on the map in various other parts of the world.
Before embarking on this deal, DAZN already had a more than respectable hold on sports broadcasting rights in various markets. In countries like Germany, Canada and Japan, DAZN already owns the rights to some of football's most exciting competitions including the UEFA Champions League, Bundesliga, La Liga and the EFL.
This acquisition would mean a huge increase in the number of sports rights contracts under their control.
DAZN is reportedly looking into this deal in the wake of speculation that some of the biggest live streaming entities on the planet, like Netflix, Apple TV and Amazon Prime Video, are attempting to bolster their market share in the sports rights world in the coming years.
This is the latest groundbreaking news involving DAZN after they made waves last year by acquiring the domestic broadcast rights to Serie A football in Italy, becoming the first streamer to get access to such content from a major league. The deal means that for the foreseeable future DAZN will be the only place Italians can watch Serie A.
They tried to pull off a similar coup when they came close to buying BT Sport earlier this year, only to bow out at the last hurdle and leave the path clear for a BT/Discovery merger, which is expected to gain pace in the coming months. That purchase of BT Sport would have finally afforded DAZN the rights they seem to want most - domestic rights to the English Premier League, sending the world's most popular football league entirely online in its home country. Alas, this was not the case, and DAZN continues to search for bigger and bigger sports rights deals.
According to Samuel Agni and Arash Massoudi of the FT, discussions between DAZN and Eleven Sports are advanced, but nothing is yet finalised regarding this deal.
As the new football season approaches and broadcasters across the world scramble to get a piece of the pie, this potential buy-out could have massive ramifications for DAZN and their place in the European football broadcast rights landscape.
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