Eleven Sports to launch in Portugal on Nowo

Sports broadcaster Eleven Sports has struck a deal with Portuguese cable operator Nowo to debut its channels in the Portuguese market.

Eleven’s deal with Nowo follows its announcement that it would launch in the country following its acquisition of rights to all matches from the Champions League and Spain’s La Liga for the Portuguese market.

Eleven said it would look to increase its rights portfolio going forward.

Eleven’s Champions League deal includes 138 matches per season, from the final qualifying round and group stages to the final. It also includes the UEFA Super Cup – the annual tie between the winners of the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League.

The agreement with La Liga includes every match from Spain’s top tier of football.

Eleven already has rights to La Liga in the UK, Poland, Belgium and Luxembourg.

“We’re delighted to partner with Nowo to serve Portuguese football fans with our award-winning style of fan-first coverage.” said Danny Menken, group managing director, Eleven Sports.

“Portugal is one of the most passionate football countries in the world. We know there is a significant hunger for world class football and working with Nowo will help us to make our premium action accessible for dedicated fans across the country.”

Miguel Venâncio, CEO of Nowo, said: “This is a very important step that asserts Nowo as a decisive player in the sports market, allowing all Portuguese fans to access great sports content. The partnership follows our strategy to increase our penetration in the market, delivering new ways to access to premium content.”

Nowo – formerly known as Cabovisão, has a share of around 5% of the Portuguese TV market.

The rights secured by Eleven for its Portuguese launch are currently held by Sport TV, jointly owned by Olivedesportos, pay TV operator NOS, Altice Portugal/Meo and Vodafone Portugal, which also holds the rights to Portugal’s Liga NOS.

Portugal’s leading operators – including Cabovisão as well as the Sport TV shareholders – signed a deal two years ago that was designed to ensure reciprocity in sports rights across their platforms.