Eleven Sports hopes a new content and advertising agreement with Scottish broadcaster STV will help to grow audiences and commercial income in the U.K. The online streaming service operates channels in eight countries, serving more than 17 million customers, and launched in the U.K. this summer after wresting the rights to Spain’s La Liga from Sky and Italy’s Serie A from BT Sport. It has since added more live soccer and other sports properties to its portfolio as it seeks to establish itself as a major player in the British sports broadcasting landscape. Cristiano Ronaldo of Juventus celebrates his goal during the Lega Seria A match between AC Milan and... [+] Juventus FC on November 11, 2018 at San Siro Stadium in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Mike Kireev/NurPhoto via Getty Images) Eleven Sports U.K. One potential barrier is the fact that it isn’t available on a traditional broadcasting platform, with users watching content via a mobile application, which is compatible with Google Chromecast. To increase awareness of the product, Eleven Sports reached a free-to-air broadcast agreement with Facebook which sees at least two live games a week shown live on the social network. The hope is that viewers will gain a taste of what’s available on the full service and is a tactic used in other countries, most recently in Portugal, where German Bundesliga matches will be shown on Facebook. This latest partnership with STV will see these free-to-air matches shown live on the STV Player online catch-up platform. As a one-off treat, there will be as many as 14 live matches from La Liga and Serie A available to stream for free this weekend. The idea is that this will not only create awareness for Eleven Sports, but also draw attention to the STV Player offering. STV Player La Liga “Our free-to-air partnership with STV fits perfectly into [our] strategy which aims to make leading football action more accessible for fans at an affordable price,” said Richard Young, commercial director at Eleven Sports UK. “STV has fantastic reach across Scotland and this collaboration is another way to drive awareness of our premium football offer to new and diverse audiences. Following our free-to-air partnership with Facebook, our inventive methods of distribution ensure we continue to reach fans everywhere while strengthening Eleven Sports’ position as a pioneer in the contemporary sports media landscape.” In a separate arrangement, STV will also act as Eleven Sports’ exclusive digital sales agent for the U.K., helping advertisers target their products and services for Eleven Sports viewers. “Eleven Sports is a fast-growing digital broadcaster, and our new partnership will provide a fantastic opportunity for advertisers,” added Peter Reilly, STV commercial director. “STV has extensive experience in serving premium content on the STV Player and we are delighted to enter into this venture with Eleven Sports as our first partner receiving digital sales representation.” Streaming disruption Analysts believe that in the future, consumers will simply pick from a range of over the top (OTT) services rather than pay for sports they don’t want. All four major U.S. sports leagues have such a platform, while the Football League also has ambitious plans alongside its more conventional deal with Sky Sports. Next season will see the first live Premier League matches shown on Amazon Prime – the first time English top-flight football will be shown solely over the Internet. However, Eleven Sports’s foray into the U.K. sports market has not been without controversy. It was criticized for the lack of Chromecast support at launch while viewers also complained about streaming issues at the US PGA Championship. The company has also locked horns with sporting authorities in relation to the traditional television blackout on Saturday afternoons in the U.K. The blackout rules dictate that no live soccer can be shown between 14:45 and 17:15 to protect Premier League and Football League attendances – even if the game is taking place abroad. Eleven Sports flouted these rules by showing La Liga matches during the blackout and although it has since backed down, it continues to voice its opposition to the rules.
Eleven Sports has signed a deal to stream La Liga and Serie A games on Scotland's STV online player. The streaming company serves eight customers across more than 17 million different countries and launched its UK service earlier this year after securing the Spanish and Italian rights from Sky and BT Sport, respectively. Eleven Sports aims to become a key player in the UK broadcasting sector by adding more live football and other sports to its portfolio.