Sports streaming giant DAZN is set to increase its annual revenue by $300m with the acquisition of Eleven Group’s global sports media brands.
The brands – Eleven Sports and Team Whistle – will bring three significant benefits to DAZN, the firm said, including expansion into new territories, the addition of a new revenue stream via social media and expanded football rights.
The completion date of the acquisition is not yet known.Once closed, Eleven Group founder Andrea Radrizzani will join DAZN’s board as an executive director and help support the group’s business development.
The acquisition will allow DAZN to broadcast the top football leagues in Portugal and Belgium, the firm said, complementing its existing positions across Italy, Spain, Germany, Austria and Switzerland, where it already holds top-tier football rights.
DAZN CEO Shay Segev: “The acquisition adds scale to our business. It is a big step forward in our mission to be the leading global sports platform.”
The deal will also create new opportunities for DAZN in Taiwan and other Southeast Asian markets, further expanding the business’ presence in Asia, where it currently holds a market leading business in Japan.
Further, the acquisition of social media-focused business Team Whistle will create a new revenue stream for DAZN while allowing it to better reach younger audiences, it said.
The deal will also help the firm to expand its fan engagement capabilities, it added.
Team Whistle is ranked within the top 10 media sports properties on ComScore with more than 700 million followers across its channels, with a growing distribution network that generates some five billion views per month across social media platforms.“The acquisition adds scale to our business. It is a big step forward in our mission to be the leading global sports platform,” said Shay Segev, CEO of DAZN Group.
“I have a great deal of respect for what Andrea, Marc and the team have achieved and look forward to working with them as we further expand our ambitions. Together, we form the strongest and most credible management team in the sector.
“DAZN has invested in building a revolutionary digital sports platform, where fans can enjoy the full range of interactive sport entertainment. We are looking forward to expanding these capabilities to new markets, as well as leveraging Eleven’s capabilities in DAZN.”
Marc Watson, the CEO of Eleven Group, added that the business “sees DAZN as the future of digital sports broadcasting and the ideal home for Eleven.”
DAZN chairman Kevin Mayer added that Team Whistle’s track record in monetising short-form content will be hugely valuable to the firm as it looks to generate the maximum possible value from its rights portfolio.
While DAZN has plans to integrate sports betting into its existing offering – and recently launched a beta test of its DAZN Bet brand in the UK – last week CEO Shay Segev said the business will remain focused primarily on its streaming services as its main source of revenue.
“Our objective at DAZN is to ensure that our media business is sustainable, and is a standalone business by itself that does not rely on the betting – the betting will come anyway as part of the natural growth into further revenue streams,” he said.