Football news - Eleven Sports ‘at risk of closure’ after just four months on air in the UK
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ByEurosport
Updated 12/12/2018 at 19:19 GMT
La Liga and Serie A broadcaster Eleven Sports is reportedly at risk of closing down in the UK as a result of ‘poor distribution and growing losses’.
Gareth Bale
Image credit: Getty Images
The channel has been successful in countries including Italy and Portugal, but has been broadcasting for four months in Britain having bought the rights to Spanish and Italian football coverage for the 2018/19 season.
But mounting losses has led to suggestions the broadcaster is on the verge of shutting down, with established pay-TV distributors Sky, BT and Virgin having not offered them a place on its channels.
The Daily Telegraph report that Eleven Sports could pull out of the UK market after UFC withdrew from an exclusive deal with the channel that was due to start in January based on it being on the channel lists of Sky, Virgin and BT.
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Eleven Sports owns the rights to La Liga and Serie A coverage in the UK
Image credit: Getty Images
An Eleven Sports spokesman said: “Without carriage agreements with the existing platforms, alongside the challenges posed by rampant piracy, the current market dynamics in the UK and Ireland are very hostile for new entrants.
“We are in discussions with our rights partners, La Liga and IMG, about how we can restructure our existing agreements in order to continue our current OTT [streaming] service.”
Eleven Sports charges £5.99 a month for a subscription and is controlled by Leeds United owner Andrea Radrizzani.
But it has failed to entice customers with the Telegraph reporting just 50,000 subscriptions since August has resulted in a monthly income of below £300,000.
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