Eleven Sports Buys Grassroots Soccer Streaming Company MyCujoo

(Bloomberg) -- Eleven Sports, the U.K.-based media group, has bought the soccer streaming company MyCujoo in a deal that will bring non-elite competitions into fans’ living rooms.

The acquisition is part of a new global streaming business service for Eleven, which already runs regional platforms in Belgium, Portugal, Italy, Taiwan, Myanmar and Japan, according to a statement Monday. Financial details were not disclosed.

Launched in 2015 by Pedro and Joao Presa, MyCujoo works with grassroots clubs and associations to broadcast men’s and women’s soccer online, helping them generate revenue by selling content to sponsors and advertisers. Its investors Go4it Capital, Sapphire Sport and Carsten Thoma will retain an interest in the enlarged group.

“Over the next few months we will become the home for sports democratization – premium, professional, semi-professional, amateur, long-tail, new-tail, real and virtual,” Luis Vicente, Eleven’s chief executive officer, said in Monday’s statement.

Eleven was founded by Andrea Radrizzani, chairman of U.K. Premier League soccer team Leeds United. Its plans for a new global service come as rival DAZN Group Ltd. plans to expand its sports streaming service globally from Dec. 1.

National Covid-19 lockdowns across Europe this year have kept soccer fans away from stadiums and from gathering in bars and pubs to watch live games, increasing demand for ways to access their favorite sport online.

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