HomeInsightsEleven Sports announces that it will no longer show soccer matches during the UK’s Saturday afternoon blackout period

SportsPro Media reports that international broadcaster, Eleven Sports, which operates as an over-the-top (OTT) streaming service in the UK, recently came under fire for breaking Football Association rules, which prohibit games on Saturdays between 2.45pm and 5.15pm from being broadcast live in the UK in order to protect match attendances in its domestic leagues.

Eleven defied Article 48.2 of UEFA rules for the first time on 29 September 2019 when it showed the La Liga clash between Spanish champions Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao, which kicked off at 3.15pm. The broadcaster then aired Getafe’s game against Levante one week later.

SportsPro says that the Premier League reportedly voiced its concern about Eleven’s actions to the FA, but the broadcaster’s stance was backed by Spanish soccer’s top flight, whose chief communications officer, Joris Evers, described the UK blackout as being “from a different age”.

SportsPro reports that Eleven said in a statement that it has now hesitantly bowed to pressure from English soccer authorities “out of respect for the wishes of our partners”, but vowed to continue to fight the blackout law, which has stood in the UK since the 1950s.

Eleven’s official statement said that: “Fans in the UK should have the freedom and the choice to watch these games legally through the official rights holder, as they do all over the world. Regrettably, intense pressure from stakeholders within the football establishment means that football fans across the country do not have this option.” The statement also said that Eleven is, “currently considering all legal and regulatory options, including the referral of the case to the appropriate authorities.”

SportsPro says that Eleven maintained that the blackout was “unfit for the modern, digital era”, particularly as regards overseas games, which the network holds rights to. The company also said that the blackout was one of the main contributors to the illegal distribution of live streams during games. To read the article on SportsPro Media’s website, click here.