Online sports network Eleven Sports could shut down its UK operations after just four months.
The broadcaster had picked up UK rights to La Liga (Spain), Serie A (Italy), Eredivisie (Netherlands), Chinese Super League (from 2019) and Allsvenskan (Sweden).
However, it appears Eleven Sports ran into trouble after UFC exercised an exit clause, because the streaming service was unable to secure distribution on Sky, BT and Virgin.
The company, backed by the Leeds United owner, Andrea Radrizzani, is now trying to renegotiate some of its smaller contracts in a bid to remain on the air.
Eleven Sports’ deal with the mixed martial arts sport gave it the rights to all 42 live UFC events in 2019, as well as over 150 hours of UFC original and archive programming in a multi-year agreement. On announcement in September Danny Menken, Group Managing Director, Eleven Sports described it as a “perfect fit for our fan centric strategy”.
The Daily Telegraph reports Eleven Sports has 50,000 subscribers to its UK service paying a monthly £5.99.
