Eleven names new Taiwan chief, extends distribution

Sports broadcaster Eleven has named Michael Sun as the group’s new managing director for Taiwan.

Michael Sun

Sun joins Eleven from SlamBall Asia, where as chairman and CEO he was responsible for driving the growth of the challenger sport across Asia.

He previously held senior roles in sports, media, investment and technology with China Trust Group, IMG, 11 Group, Lissajous Ventures and others, working across Taiwan, mainland China and Europe.

Sun replaces Simone Kang, who departed the Eleven group in July 2020, having led the Taiwan operation for four years.

Eleven Taiwan launched in 2016 and offers a mix of local rights like the Chinese Professional Baseball League and Top Volleyball League

alongside international sport including the Premier League and NBA.

The broadcaster recently extended its distribution network, making its two sports channels available via major cable operators including Kbro Co, Taiwan Broadband, China Network System and Taiwan Optical Platform. In total, Eleven’s channels will be newly available to more than two million Taiwanese viewers

Eleven CEO Luis Vicente, said: “Michael Sun brings with him a huge amount of experience in content creation and events, a deep passion for sport and a long track record of innovation. He will help us to build on the excellent work done so far in Taiwan and to fulfil our group wide ambition of democratising access to the best LIVE sport content for fans around the world. I’m excited to welcome Michael to the Eleven family.”

Sun said: “Eleven have built up a compelling platform in Taiwan– with an exciting mix of local and international sport and a platform agnostic approach that delivers for fans however they want to consume their sport. I’m looking forward to leading the continued growth of our Taiwan operations in the years ahead.”