DAZN Group, the global sports media firm and parent company of the sports streaming service, has completed its acquisition of international subscription-based sports broadcaster Eleven Sports and digital content company Team Whistle.
The acquisition, which was first agreed in September, has been finalized following an anti-trust review and sees DAZN boost its sports rights portfolio in markets including Italy, Belgium, Portugal, and Southeast Asia.
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As part of the takeover, Eleven’s founder Andrea Radrizzani has joined DAZN’s board as an executive director and will support the company's business development.
The deal is predicted to add $300 million in revenue to DAZN Group.
DAZN chief executive Shay Segev said: “This acquisition is an important element for our continuing growth – acquiring top quality rights, expanding in new markets in Belgium, Portugal, and Taiwan, and developing our social reach and engagement by bringing Team Whistle’s network and expertise to DAZN.
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“Overall, the deal adds scale and firmly establishes DAZN as a global leader in innovation and disruption as well as positioning us as the ultimate sports destination.”
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By GlobalDataEleven Sports was founded by Radrizzani, who also owns English Premier League soccer club Leeds United. Both Eleven and Leeds are under the umbrella of Radrizzani’s global investment company Aser Ventures.
The entrepreneur and media executive founded Eleven in 2015 after selling sports rights agency MP & Silva to a Chinese buyer for more than $1 billion.
Eleven has a range of sports rights which includes deals to show European soccer’s UEFA Champions League and the English Premier League in Portugal. In Italy, it has rights to the domestic third-tier Serie C, as well as the domestic top-tier Lega Basket Serie A.
In Belgium, its portfolio features domestic soccer's top-tier Pro League, the German Bundesliga, Spain’s LaLiga, France’s Ligue 1, Italy’s Serie A, and mixed martial arts' UFC.
The broadcaster recently expanded into Southeast Asia, launching in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei, the Philippines, and Hong Kong.
The company launched in those markets with the acquisition of exclusive Asian Football Confederation rights in late 2021 for the 2021-24 cycle and has since added sports such as table tennis, badminton, and cricket.
Eleven’s expansion in Asia built on its operations in Taiwan and Japan in recent years.
Eleven Group, the parent company of Eleven Sports, has strategically focused on live sports streaming over the past 18 months, launching a new global Eleven International over-the-top service.
It has also made several notable purchases in recent years to bolster its digital content, acquiring international soccer streaming platform MyCujoo, sports production firm NEO Studios, and Team Whistle.
Eleven’s acquisition of Team Whistle created a business with revenues of more than $300 million in the year to the end of June 2021.
DAZN, owned by billionaire Len Blavatnik, is seeking to increase its rights stable in an increasingly competitive market where it is going up against tech giants Amazon and Apple, and traditional broadcasters such as Comcast-owned Sky and NBC, and Disney-owned ESPN to land the biggest sports properties.
The platform has developed a strong footing for itself globally and now owns domestic media rights to Italian soccer’s top-flight Serie A, Germany’s Bundesliga, and from next season, Spain’s LaLiga.
DAZN also shows several other sports ranging from motorsports to boxing. However, the company continues to operate at a loss.
Last year, Blavatnik’s Access Industries, DAZN’s parent company, and principal shareholder agreed a $4.3-billion recapitalization of the business, clearing the company’s debt to allow it to carry out its sports streaming strategy and “maintain its strong commercial momentum.”
At the time, DAZN said it planned to eventually become profitable and diversify its business by creating new revenue streams.
Following the acquisition announcement, US news outlet Axios reported DAZN had put its US IPO plans on hold to focus on profitability and expansion, particularly in Europe.
The acquisition of Eleven Sports follows DAZN’s failed attempt earlier last year to buy UK pay-TV operator BT Sport, another rival sports broadcaster, despite talks reaching an advanced stage.
That deal was eventually hijacked by US media giant Discovery which entered into a 50-50 sports joint venture with BT Sport, which holds several premium rights in the UK such as the Premier League and Champions League.
In April 2022, DAZN announced that it will launch a betting service through a partnership with Pragmatic Group, the betting and gaming industry platform, and content provider.
A new business headquartered in Gibraltar will be launched to operate the DAZN Bet service, which will leverage the existing DAZN customer base via a licensing agreement.
