Eleven Sports expands football broadcasting footprint with IMG

Continuing the expansion of its UK football broadcasting footprint, ELEVEN Sports has won the rights to Italy’s top flight from BT Sport.

ELEVEN Sports is owned by Andrea Radrizzani, who is also the chairman of English Championship club, Leeds United. The Serie A deal follows on from ELEVEN Sports winning the rights from Sky Sports to show La Liga for the upcoming season.

The group has revealed that forming a strategic partnership with IMG, Eleven Sports 1 and Eleven Sports 2 will launch online in August, in time for the commencing of the La Liga and Serie A season.

The significance of the deal increased immensely this week when World Football’s biggest star, Cristiano Ronaldo joined the current Italian champions Juventus.

Marc Watson, Executive Chairman and Group CEO of ELEVEN Sports commented on the Eleven Sports website: “Serie A has a dedicated following in the UK and Ireland and there is now added interest following Juventus’ signing of global superstar Cristiano Ronaldo.

“ELEVEN SPORTS. “With more top-tier rights to come in addition to Serie A and LaLiga, ELEVEN SPORTS’ entry in to the UK and Ireland has changed the market dynamics. History has shown new rivals bring innovation and fresh thinking to the ways in which premium sports action is produced, packaged and distributed for fans.”

Commenting on the partnership with IMG, he added: “The partnership with IMG strengthens ELEVEN SPORTS’ position as a major player in the UK and Ireland. IMG adds significant resources to our operations and they will contribute greatly to our innovative way of delivering more contemporary sports coverage that appeals to today’s audience.”

Gaetano Miccichè, Serie A President also spoke about the deal on the ELEVEN Sports site: “We have worked very successfully with ELEVEN SPORTS in the last three years to take world-class Serie A action to football fans in several markets around the world.”

“We are delighted to continue our partnership in the UK and Ireland and we are looking forward to being a big part of ELEVEN’s sport focused strategy that will place us at the forefront of their innovative offer in what is a very important market for Serie A.”