Eleven Sports’ appointment of Jorge Pavão de Sousa as managing director of its Portuguese operation appears to be directed at agreeing carriage deals with the country’s major pay-television operators.
With rights to domestic football, the big five European leagues and Uefa’s club competitions sold for the foreseeable future, de Sousa’s primary responsibility is likely to be bridging the distribution gap between pay-television broadcaster Eleven and its rival Sport TV.
Eleven is currently carried on just one Portuguese pay-television operator: Nowo. The three other major operators in the country – Nos, Portugal Telecom and Vodafone – all have 25-per-cent stakes in pay-television broadcaster Sport TV.
De Sousa’s experience working for Portugal Telecom and Vodafone, as well the relationships forged at those companies, could help Eleven convince Sport TV’s shareholders to carry its channel.
Wider distribution will be essential for Eleven if it wants to recoup its spend on rights to the Uefa Champions League, Spain’s LaLiga, the German Bundesliga, Formula One and France’s Ligue 1.