Sports streaming subscription service Eleven Sports is no longer the exclusive home of La Liga in the UK and Ireland after pay-TV broadcaster Premier Sports secured rights to a selection of games from Spanish soccer's top flight.
However, Eleven will continue to be the only place to watch every La Liga match until at least the end of the season, with Premier Sports' package limited to four games each week, starting from this weekend.
Premier Sports will also air weekly magazine programmes La Liga World and the La Liga Show, as well as a weekly highlights programme featuring every match. The coverage will air across the Premier Sports 1 and 2 TV channels, which are available to Sky and Virgin customers. The live action will also be on the Premier Player online service.
SportsPro understands that La Liga’s agreement with Premier Sports has not come as a surprise to Eleven, with the company even suggesting the arrangement could be a model for future seasons.
Eleven moved to renegotiate its rights deal with La Liga in December after failing to secure a linear carriage deal in the UK, and the league indicated during those talks that it could seek out a traditional broadcast partner for the remainder of the 2018/19 season.
“Thanks to this agreement the best league in the world can be enjoyed across multiple broadcast platforms in the UK and Ireland,” said Melcior Soler, director of La Liga’s audiovisual department. “We are only days away until Real Madrid CF and FC Barcelona meet in El Clásico and Premier Sports viewers will have one of the best seats in the house for the most anticipated fixture in world football.”
Premier Sports was also the beneficiary at the end of last month when it picked up Eleven’s rights to Italy’s Serie A and the Eredivisie, the top flight of soccer in the Netherlands. Eleven will officially hand over the coverage at the beginning of March following a ‘strategic decision’ to end its partnership with IMG, the agency that sells the rights to both properties.
On top of Serie A and the Eredivisie, Eleven relinquished its UK coverage of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) back in December, and is now preparing to lower the cost of a monthly pass for existing subscribers from UK£5.99 to UK£4.99 from 1st March.
Premier Sports, meanwhile, is offering new members the chance to sign up to its coverage at the reduced rate of UK£5.99 per month with a one-month free trial before 31st March. The price of a monthly subscription will revert back to UK£9.99 in August.
“We are delighted to be bringing coverage of La Liga to our channels and add to our existing line-up of top football leagues from around the world,” added Premier Sports chief executive Richard Sweeney. “This addition makes Premier Sports a must have channel for football fans and underpins our drive to bring even more exceptional value to our customers as we continue to build our brand.”
Sports streaming subscription service Eleven Sports is no longer the exclusive home of La Liga in the UK and Ireland after pay-TV broadcaster Premier Sports secured rights to a selection of games from Spanish soccer's top flight.
However, Eleven will continue to be the only place to watch every La Liga match until at least the end of the season, with Premier Sports' package limited to four games each week, starting from this weekend.
Premier Sports will also air weekly magazine programmes La Liga World and the La Liga Show, as well as a weekly highlights programme featuring every match. The coverage will air across the Premier Sports 1 and 2 TV channels, which are available to Sky and Virgin customers. The live action will also be on the Premier Player online service.
SportsPro understands that La Liga’s agreement with Premier Sports has not come as a surprise to Eleven, with the company even suggesting the arrangement could be a model for future seasons.
Eleven moved to renegotiate its rights deal with La Liga in December after failing to secure a linear carriage deal in the UK, and the league indicated during those talks that it could seek out a traditional broadcast partner for the remainder of the 2018/19 season.
“Thanks to this agreement the best league in the world can be enjoyed across multiple broadcast platforms in the UK and Ireland,” said Melcior Soler, director of La Liga’s audiovisual department. “We are only days away until Real Madrid CF and FC Barcelona meet in El Clásico and Premier Sports viewers will have one of the best seats in the house for the most anticipated fixture in world football.”
Premier Sports was also the beneficiary at the end of last month when it picked up Eleven’s rights to Italy’s Serie A and the Eredivisie, the top flight of soccer in the Netherlands. Eleven will officially hand over the coverage at the beginning of March following a ‘strategic decision’ to end its partnership with IMG, the agency that sells the rights to both properties.
On top of Serie A and the Eredivisie, Eleven relinquished its UK coverage of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) back in December, and is now preparing to lower the cost of a monthly pass for existing subscribers from UK£5.99 to UK£4.99 from 1st March.
Premier Sports, meanwhile, is offering new members the chance to sign up to its coverage at the reduced rate of UK£5.99 per month with a one-month free trial before 31st March. The price of a monthly subscription will revert back to UK£9.99 in August.
“We are delighted to be bringing coverage of La Liga to our channels and add to our existing line-up of top football leagues from around the world,” added Premier Sports chief executive Richard Sweeney. “This addition makes Premier Sports a must have channel for football fans and underpins our drive to bring even more exceptional value to our customers as we continue to build our brand.”
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