Eleven Sports Drops Serie A, Eredivisie Coverage in the U.K.

SVOD operator Eleven Sports has relinquished the rights to Italian Serie A, Dutch Eredivisie and Chinese Super League football in the U.K. and Ireland so that it can focus on LaLiga coverage.

Serie A and Dutch Eredivisie will cease to be available on Eleven Sports at the end of February. “This follows a strategic direction we have taken to amicably end our partnership with IMG, the agency that manages these rights,” the platform said in a statement. “The strategic direction we have chosen allows us to focus on LaLiga, which not only drives real value for us in the U.K. and Ireland but is also a property which we continue to have a valued partnership with in five markets globally.”

The platform is dropping the price of its monthly pass to £4.99 in the U.K. and £5.99 in Ireland as of March 1.

Italian Serie A, Dutch Eredivisie and Chinese Super League now move to Premier Sports, which is available on Sky and Virgin and via the direct to consumer Premier Player. FreeSports is available to 22 million U.K. homes across seven different platforms.

The channels operator begins its Serie A coverage in February, airing a minimum of six games per round through the 2020/2021 season. Premier Sports is offering Eleven Sports customers the opportunity to subscribe on Sky or on the Premier Player at the reduced rate of £5.99 per month; the price reverts to £9.99 per month from August 2019.

Richard Sweeney, CEO of Premier Sports, commented, “We are delighted to be bringing Italian football to our channel lineup along with the other great football leagues. This addition adds tremendous value for our customers who already enjoy top Rugby Union, Scottish football and American sports. We look forward to announcing more content in the coming weeks as we continue to grow Premier Sports into a major pay-TV operator in the U.K. and Ireland.”

Marco Brunelli, Lega Serie A CEO, added, “Thanks to this contract, Serie A TIM will have a new home in the U.K. and Ireland, a very important market for Italian football. We are very happy that now our English and Irish fans will have the chance to watch the best of Serie A TIM and admire our world-class Champions.”