Sports streamer DAZN completes acquisition of Eleven Group and social media agency Team Whistle

DAZN Group has completed the acquisition of Eleven Group and social media creative agency Team Whistle.

The deal for rival Eleven gives sports streamer DAZN new local services and sports rights in several territories, including Belgium, Portugal and Taiwan.

Eleven owns a number of sports rights in Western Europe and Asia and owns streamer Eleven International with Team Whistle and several other companies, including American streamer MyCujoo.

In Belgium, DAZN adds the domestic Jupiler Pro League, while in Portugal it gets the rights to the English Premier League and 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, part of Eleven since 2021, gives DAZN access to 700 million followers on social channels and access to a new online audience. Whistle will leverage DAZN’s local rights and talent to “create value beyond the platform, build an audience and drive fans to its paid services and content.”

For DAZN, the Eleven deal softens the blow of not acquiring BT Sports, which then had a joint venture in the UK and Ireland with Warner Bros. founded Discovery.

Shay Segev, CEO of DAZN Group, said: “Today is an important moment as we officially welcome Eleven and Team Whistle to the DAZN family. This acquisition is a key element of our continued growth – acquiring high-quality rights, expanding into new markets in Belgium, Portugal and Taiwan, and developing our social reach and engagement through Team Whistle’s network and expertise to making DAZN spot available. Overall, the deal adds scale and firmly establishes DAZN as a global leader in innovation and disruption, positioning us as the ultimate sports destination.”

The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

In October we announced that DAZN had entered the final phase of its reorganisation, downsizing its London office and shifting focus to bases in Europe and India. This followed the redundancies of around 5% of the UK workforce in May.