Sky Sports lose La Liga TV rights in UK to unknown digital site owned by Leeds United chairman

Categories: Football | Published by: AC

09/05/2018

Updated: 28/01/2023

Sky Sports have lost their La Liga TV rights in the UK to Eleven Sports.

Sky have had an association with La Liga for 20 years, indicating almost every weekend fixture this term.

El Clasico will once again be screened on Sunday but the deal will come to an end at the end of the season.

Eleven Sports, which is owned by Leeds United chief Andrea Radrizzani, has now secured the rights for the next three seasons.

It is unclear how the action will be packaged and shown in the UK and Ireland from the start of next term.

Eleven Sports is currently accessible online while the network also has it's own Tv channels and OTT platforms in the US, Italy, Belgium and other nations.

It is currently unavailable in the UK but details will be released on plans for the British market.

Sky Sports had an PS18m-a-year bid for La Liga rights rejected and Eleven Sports have now swooped.

La Liga chief Javier Tebas said:” We have worked very hard to promote the excellence of LaLiga in the UK and Ireland and we are confident that ELEVEN SPORTS will help us to grow and innovate our brand in the market for years to come .”

The news is another blow to Sky Sports, who lost their Champions League coverage to BT Sport.

BT, who also have a slice of Premier League matches, have bought European and English domestic rugby as well as the recent Ashes series in Australia.

Radrizzani, who took full ownership of Leeds in May 2017, is already a controversial figure in English football.

In January, he introduced a new club badge depicting the' Leeds Salute' to the fury of supporters, with a consultation process with fans having now been opened.

He also announced that the club would be going on a post-season tour to Myanmar later this month, despite the political issues in the country.