ELEVEN SPORTS, A company owned by Leeds United chairman Andrea Radrizzani, has bought up live and exclusive rights to broadcast La Liga in the UK and Ireland for the next three years.
For the past 20 years, Spain’s top division has been broadcast in this region by Sky Sports, However, the Guardian reports that they were unwilling to pay the £18 million-per-season required to keep the association going.
In Eleven’s announcement today, they say they will distribute their La Liga content in ‘innovative ways’ which will “give fans increased access and flexibility in their viewing options.”
This could mean Eleven bring clips through social media channels and YouTube, while also streaming matches on their own platforms. It also remains possible that they could simply sub-license games back to Sky or to BT Sports.
“The way people, especially young people, watch live sport is changing and we always try to reflect that in the ways we make our product available. We are excited about the opportunities we have to do this in the UK and Ireland,” said Marc Watson, CEO of Eleven, who state themselves to be ‘one of the most important broadcasters’ of La Liga in Europe as this move adds to their rights in Belgium and Poland, where Eleven broadcast via their own TV channel.
“This is an incredibly exciting time for our young and dynamic company and we will announce soon how we will introduce innovative ways for dedicated fans to watch and engage in the live action.”
