What now for Eleven Sports? Assessing the OTT service’s UK scale-back and its wider impact

The announcement last week that Eleven Sports had chosen to hand over its rights in the UK to both Dutch soccer’s Eredivisie and Italian top flight Serie A came as the latest blow to the broadcaster’s UK operation.

However, the over-the-top (OTT) streaming platform’s “strategic decision” to relinquish the rights to two of European soccer’s premier products was offset by a declaration that rights to Spanish top tier La Liga will remain with Eleven, at least until the end of the current season.

The termination of the Serie A and Eredivisie agreements came as a direct consequence of Eleven ending its partnership with IMG, the agency in charge of managing those rights.

The sports streaming company, founded by Leeds United owner Andrea Radrizzani, announced its arrival into the UK sports broadcasting market in the summer of 2018, obtaining the rights to several European soccer leagues, as well as agreeing an exclusive deal with combat sport’s Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

Of those, less than nine months later, only the service’s La Liga coverage remains. The UFC agreement was rescinded after the mixed martial arts (MMA) organisation activated an exit clause in its contract after Eleven failed to secure a carriage arrangement with a linear broadcaster. Eleven has also lost the UK rights to Swedish soccer’s Allsvenskan and the Chinese Super League (CSL), with both previously part of Eleven’s now-annulled partnership with IMG.

Eleven Sports has indicated a desire to keep hold of its La Liga rights 

Eleven has reportedly struggled to secure sufficient interest, according to a report from UK newspaper the Guardian, the platform has attracted just 50,000 subscribers.

“It shows how much audience you need to bring to the table to satisfy the owners of these companies,” explains Jonathan Broughton, lead analyst at Media Business Insight.

Meanwhile, as a result of the dwindling rights ownership, Eleven’s monthly pass in the UK will be available for a knockdown price of UK£4.99 rather than UK£5.99 from the beginning of March. That development comes after it was revealed in early January that the UK offering would no longer feature the option of a UK49.99 annual subscription.

When that particular development emerged, an Eleven Sports spokesperson said: “Without carriage agreements with the existing platforms, alongside the challenges posed by rampant piracy, the current market dynamics in the UK and Ireland are very hostile for new entrants.”

The current market dynamics in the UK and Ireland are very hostile for new entrants

It is worth noting, however, that – contrary to reports, Eleven’s most recent statement does not only state a desire to retain its La Liga rights beyond the conclusion of this season, but also to add further rights deals to complement its Spanish soccer offering.

Indeed, the broadcaster has stated that the UK strand of the business has strengthened its position following the handing over of its rights, having also restructured the terms of its three-year deal with La Liga that was initially agreed in May 2018.

Amid the latest rights losses, however, perhaps more interesting is the issue of where coverage of those leagues has gone now.

The UFC has returned to pay-TV network BT Sport, from where Eleven first lured the rights. Meanwhile, Premier Sports, the linear broadcaster owned by Premier Media Broadcasting, has picked up the rights to all three of the Eredivisie, Serie A and the CSL.

Premier Sports will air a minimum of six live games per week from Italy’s top flight, while the channel and its free-to-air sister FreeSports will broadcast the biggest games from the Eredivisie and CSL, in what the broadcaster has described as a “monumental deal”.

Although the Dublin-based Premier Media is not a traditional powerhouse among Britain’s sports broadcasting giants, its existing carriage deals with both Sky and Virgin highlights the importance of linear visibility in the UK sports rights markets, where traditional consumption continues to thrive.

As Broughton adds: “I don’t think what Eleven has seen in the UK is indicative of what is happening in the rest of Europe.

“The UK has a really strong pay-TV proposition, which – in turn – means that there is less incentive for people to change. In comparison to other markets, those pay-TV offerings are not unreasonably priced.

“Crucially, these television networks are not offering solely events, but they are providing a package.”

As it stands, in order to watch live coverage of Europe’s top five soccer leagues from the start of the 2019/20 season, it will cost upwards of UK£1,000 (US$1,300). Eleven’s La Liga deal will continue to cost fans its monthly UK£4.99 (US$6.50), while Premier Sports’ coverage of its newly acquired Italian and Dutch soccer will cost fans a further bill of UK£9.99 (US$13) per month.

To access all of the Premier League’s televised games becomes yet more complicated from August, with Amazon possessing the rights to 20 games from the division. That will cost viewers a further UK£7.99 (US$10.50) per month, while packages for Sky Sports, including BT Sport, begin from a monthly rate of UK£65 (US$84.99).

It is an expensive commitment and one that can, perhaps, point to one of the greatest challenges facing any OTT sports platform. While any major soccer-playing nation’s premier division is, in itself, a flagship product, an international league attracts a different and less mainstream demographic than that of a local domestic league or cup competition.

Yet, even that leaves any new platform facing something of a catch-22 situation; while their rights are not necessarily attractive enough to entice subscribers, most do not have the capital to challenge for the most lucrative sporting packages.

Beyond the lack of carriage deal, Eleven has encountered other issues, including technical problems and a conflict with Uefa’s statutes which prevent live soccer being shown between 2.45pm and 5.15pm on Saturdays in the UK, affecting broadcasts of both Serie A and La Liga.

Now though, La Liga sits as the sole focus on the UK branch’s platform as it considers its future in a market whose sports consumption trends differ hugely to those in some of the broadcaster’s other territories, as far afield as both Poland and Taiwan.

As Eleven’s statement says: ‘The strategic direction we have chosen allows us to focus on LaLiga which not only drives real value for us in the UK and Ireland but is also a property which we continue to have a valued partnership with in five markets globally.’

The announcement last week that Eleven Sports had chosen to hand over its rights in the UK to both Dutch soccer’s Eredivisie and Italian top flight Serie A came as the latest blow to the broadcaster’s UK operation.

However, the over-the-top (OTT) streaming platform’s ‘strategic decision’ to relinquish the rights to two of European soccer’s premier products was offset by a declaration that rights to Spanish top tier La Liga will remain with Eleven, at least until the end of the current season.

The termination of the Serie A and Eredivisie agreements came as a direct consequence of Eleven ending its partnership with IMG, the agency in charge of managing those rights.

The sports streaming company, founded by Leeds United owner Andrea Radrizzani, announced its arrival into the UK sports broadcasting market in the summer of 2018, obtaining the rights to several European soccer leagues, as well as agreeing an exclusive deal with combat sport’s Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

Of those, less than nine months later, only the service’s La Liga coverage remains. The UFC agreement was rescinded after the mixed martial arts (MMA) organisation activated an exit clause in its contract after Eleven failed to secure a carriage arrangement with a linear broadcaster. Eleven has also lost the UK rights to Swedish soccer’s Allsvenskan and the Chinese Super League (CSL), with both previously part of Eleven’s now-annulled partnership with IMG.

Eleven has reportedly struggled to secure sufficient interest, according to a report from UK newspaper the Guardian, the platform has attracted just 50,000 subscribers.

“It shows how much audience you need to bring to the table to satisfy the owners of these companies,” explains Jonathan Broughton, lead analyst at Media Business Insight.

Meanwhile, as a result of the dwindling rights ownership, Eleven’s monthly pass in the UK will be available for a knockdown price of UK£4.99 rather than UK£5.99 from the beginning of March. That development comes after it was revealed in early January that the UK offering would no longer feature the option of a UK49.99 annual subscription.

When that particular development emerged, an Eleven Sports spokesperson said: “Without carriage agreements with the existing platforms, alongside the challenges posed by rampant piracy, the current market dynamics in the UK and Ireland are very hostile for new entrants.”

It is worth noting, however, that – contrary to reports, Eleven’s most recent statement does not only state a desire to retain its La Liga rights beyond the conclusion of this season, but also to add further rights deals to complement its Spanish soccer offering.

Indeed, the broadcaster has stated that the UK strand of the business has strengthened its position following the handing over of its rights, having also restructured the terms of its three-year deal with La Liga that was initially agreed in May 2018.

Amid the latest rights losses, however, perhaps more interesting is the issue of where coverage of those leagues has gone now.

The UFC has returned to pay-TV network BT Sport, from where Eleven first lured the rights. Meanwhile, Premier Sports, the linear broadcaster owned by Premier Media Broadcasting, has picked up the rights to all three of the Eredivisie, Serie A and the CSL.

Premier Sports will air a minimum of six live games per week from Italy’s top flight, while the channel and its free-to-air sister FreeSports will broadcast the biggest games from the Eredivisie and CSL, in what the broadcaster has described as a ‘monumental deal’.

Although the Dublin-based Premier Media is not a traditional powerhouse among Britain’s sports broadcasting giants, its existing carriage deals with both Sky and Virgin highlights the importance of linear visibility in the UK sports rights markets, where traditional consumption continues to thrive.

As Broughton adds: “I don’t think what Eleven has seen in the UK is indicative of what is happening in the rest of Europe.

“The UK has a really strong pay-TV proposition, which – in turn – means that there is less incentive for people to change. In comparison to other markets, those pay-TV offerings are not unreasonably priced.

“Crucially, these television networks are not offering solely events, but they are providing a package.”

As it stands, in order to watch live coverage of Europe’s top five soccer leagues from the start of the 2019/20 season, it will cost upwards of UK£1,000. Eleven’s La Liga deal will continue to cost fans its monthly UK£4.99, while Premier Sports’ coverage of its newly acquired Italian and Dutch soccer will cost fans a further bill of UK£9.99 per month.

To access all of the Premier League’s televised games becomes yet more complicated from August, with Amazon possessing the rights to 20 games from the division. That will cost viewers a further UK£7.99 per month, while packages for Sky Sports, including BT Sport, begin from a monthly rate of UK£65.

It is an expensive commitment and one that can, perhaps, point to one of the greatest challenges facing any OTT sports platform. While any major soccer-playing nation’s premier division is, in itself, a flagship product, an international league attracts a different and less mainstream demographic than that of a local domestic league or cup competition.

Yet, even that leaves any new platform facing something of a catch-22 situation; while their rights are not necessarily attractive enough to entice subscribers, most do not have the capital to challenge for the most lucrative sporting packages.

Beyond the lack of carriage deal, Eleven has encountered other issues, including technical problems and a conflict with Uefa’s statutes which prevent live soccer being shown between 2.45pm and 5.15pm on Saturdays in the UK, affecting broadcasts of both Serie A and La Liga.

Now though, La Liga sits as the sole focus on the UK branch’s platform as it considers its future in a market whose sports consumption trends differ hugely to those in some of the broadcaster’s other territories, as far afield as both Poland and Taiwan.

As Eleven’s statement says: ‘The strategic direction we have chosen allows us to focus on LaLiga which not only drives real value for us in the UK and Ireland but is also a property which we continue to have a valued partnership with in five markets globally.’