Eleven Sports to launch in Portugal after taking Champions League and La Liga rights

Eleven Sports has secured the Portuguese rights to UEFA Champions League and Spanish La Liga football ahead of a launch in what will become the sports broadcaster’s 10^th market.

Eleven Sports has acquired the rights to air 138 Champions League matches per season, from the final qualifying round and group stages to the final. The deal also includes the UEFA Super Cup – the annual tie between the winners of the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League.

Both agreements run from the beginning of the 2018-19 season for three years until the end of the 2020-21 season.

The acquisition of La Liga rights follows Eleven’s recent acquisition of these rights for the UK and Ireland. Eleven has built a partnership with the Spanish league in Poland, Belgium and Luxembourg where it has held the rights since 2015.

The company said it would announce details in the coming weeks about the ways in which it will package and distribute the rights in Portugal.

“We are very proud to secure UEFA Champions League and LaLiga rights in Portugal, two of the world’s biggest football competitions in a nation that has a huge passion for the game,” said Danny Menken, group managing director, Eleven Sports.

“Today’s news, which signals our entry into another major European market and our tenth market globally, helps drive our momentum of serving dedicated sports fans everywhere. We look forward to serving up thrilling live football in innovative ways that enable fans to engage with the action that features some of the world’s greatest rivalries, biggest teams and best players.”