Sports streamer DAZN completes takeover of Eleven Group and social media agency Tim Whistle
DAZN Group has completed the acquisition of Eleven Group and social media creative agency Team Whistle.
The deal with rival Eleven gives sports streamer DAZN new local services and sports rights in several territories, including Belgium, Portugal and Taiwan.
Eleven owns a suite of sports rights in Western Europe and Asia and owns several other businesses, including streamer Eleven International, Team Whistle and US streamer MyKuzu.
In Belgium, DAZN added the domestic Jupiler Pro League, while in Portugal it got the rights to the English Premier League and the UEFA Champions League. In Taiwan, DAZN adds local baseball. DAZN already offers local sports content in Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Canada, the US and the UK.
Team Whistle, which is part of Eleven from 2021, will give DAZN access to 700 million followers across social channels and access to new online viewers. Whistle will leverage DAZN’s local rights and talent to “create off-platform value, build audiences and drive fans to its paid services and content.”
For DAZN, the Eleven deal softens the blow of failing to capture BT Sports, which formed a joint venture in the UK and Ireland with Warner Bros Discovery.
DAZN Group CEO Shei Segev said: “Today is a big moment as we officially welcome Eleven and Tim Whistle to the DAZN family. This acquisition is an important element in our continued growth – acquiring top quality rights, expanding into new markets in Belgium, Portugal and Taiwan, and developing our social reach and engagement by bringing the network and expertise of Team Whistle to DAZN. Overall, the deal adds scale and firmly establishes DAZN as a global leader in innovation and disruption, as well as our position as the ultimate sports destination.”
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
In October, we revealed that DAZN had moved into its latest phase of restructuring, scaling back its London office and shifting focus to bases in Europe and India. This follows the redundancy of around 5% of the UK workforce in May.
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