In the US, DAZN’s acquisition of Eleven Sports can be seen as a minor deal. However, it is a big problem in the rest of the world. Still, it should have positive ramifications for American soccer fans.
DAZN has become synonymous with boxing events in the US, but as close as our neighbor to the north, Canada, DAZN is a major player in the world of soccer rights.
DAZN Acquires Eleven Sports
In Canada, they have the exclusive rights to the UEFA club competitions: Champions League, Europa League and Conference League. DAZN was also the home of the English Premier League in Canada for three full seasons until they were overtaken by fuboTV at the start of the current season.
Meanwhile, in Europe, in recent years, DAZN has acquired the domestic rights to Serie A in Italy, Friday and Sunday Bundesliga matches in Germany, as well as being the home of MLS for viewers in Germany. , Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Japan and Brazil.
In the US, DAZN is not without some soccer coverage. DAZN owns the exclusive rights to the UEFA Women’s Champions League (available for free thanks to its streaming deal with YouTube) as well as the Liga F, the top women’s football league in Spain.
With DAZN’s acquisition of Eleven Sports, DAZN will also become home to several European leagues. These include the Swiss Super League, Danish Super League, Polish Ekstraklasa, Norwegian Eliteserien, Icelandic Top Football, Kazakhstan Professional Football League, Latvian Optibet Virsliga, Northern Ireland Premiership, Slovak Fortuna League and Serie A. Italian C. When you add in the minor leagues covered by Eleven Sports that they acquired with the purchase of MyCujoo in 2020, the amount of niche soccer coverage by DAZN becomes quite impressive.
How DAZN Acquires Eleven Sports Affects US Soccer Fans
How does it affect US soccer fans? Yes, the coverage was already available through Eleven Sports and its partner OneFootball, but DAZN provides a level of professional broadcasting that quite frankly cannot be matched by Eleven Sports in the US, as their UEFA coverage demonstrates. Women’s Champions League with YouTube, DAZN also brings a world-class production.
While a major player in Europe, Eleven Sports’ penetration of the US market has been less than spectacular. While I don’t see DAZN breaking into the US market like it did in Japan, Europe, and even Canada, it’s good to see this world-class company taking over the distribution of so many soccer leagues in the US. USA No, it is not the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, etc. But US soccer fans deserve a quality streaming service, and DAZN is exactly that.
Photo Credit: IMAGO/Beautiful Sports
