DAZN acquires Eleven Group
September 27, 2022
DAZN Group, the sports streaming platform, has announced an agreement to acquire the Eleven Group’s global sports media businesses.
The transaction, when completed, will propel DAZN to become the broadcaster of top football leagues in Portugal and Belgium. Eleven Group’s businesses will also complement DAZN’s existing positions in Italy, DACH and Spain, where DAZN holds top tier domestic football rights. Eleven also has a presence in Taiwan and other Southeast Asian markets, giving DAZN a greater foothold in the region where it already has an established business in Japan.
In all, the integration of ELEVEN Sports adds 40,000 streamed football matches each year to DAZN.
The deal introduces a growing circa $300 million a year to DAZN Group’s revenues. The deal will also see DAZN acquire Team Whistle, the Eleven-owned media business that DAZN says will enable it to reach younger audiences, diversify and expand its fan engagement capabilities, and maximise the value of its rights portfolio.
Shay Segev, CEO of DAZN Group, said: “The acquisition adds scale to our business. It is a big step forward in our mission to be the leading global sports platform. I have a great deal of respect for what Andrea, Marc and the team have achieved and look forward to working with them as we further expand our ambitions. Together we form the strongest and most credible management team in the sector. DAZN has invested in building a revolutionary digital sports platform, where fans can enjoy the full range of interactive sport entertainment. We are looking forward to expanding these capabilities to new markets as well as leveraging Eleven’s capabilities in DAZN.”
Marc Watson, CEO of Eleven Group, commented: “We see DAZN as the future of digital sports broadcasting and the ideal home for Eleven. Sport is global entertainment and joining with DAZN will be transformative, allowing us to access greater economies of scale and a global platform for our talented team. We couldn’t be more excited about this deal, and I’m really looking forward to working with Shay and the team at DAZN.”
Kevin Mayer, DAZN Chairman, said: “This deal marks an acceleration of our strategy to diversify our offerings and leverage our fantastic sports properties and our platform into new markets and business models. Team Whistle is a growing business that has a proven track record in monetising short form content. It will be hugely valuable to DAZN as we look to generate the maximum value from our enviable rights portfolio, creating new formats of content to reach new audiences and generate powerful incremental revenue streams. We look forward to welcoming all our new colleagues.”
Andrea Radrizzani, Eleven Founder & Chairman and Owner of Leeds United, added: “We have developed a successful sports media company in the last six years with Eleven, and we’re delighted that this journey continues. The merger will provide greater opportunities as a group to continue to build a global destination for sports fans, which was our mission from day one.”
Upon completion of the deal, Radrizzani, Eleven founder, will join DAZN’s board as an executive director, and will support the DAZN Group’s business development.
FInancial details have not been disclosed. The deal is subject to anti-trust review; as such, the completion date remains unknown.