ELEVEN will distribute PFL’s Regular Season, Playoff and Championship Fights, as well as
PFL Studios original programming
PFL 2021 season premieres on Friday, April 23 in primetime on ELEVEN, ESPN 2,
ESPN Deportes and ESPN+
NEW YORK (April 8, 2021) – The Professional Fighters League (PFL), the fastest growing and most innovative sports league, today announced it has partnered with ELEVEN, one of the leading sports broadcasters in Portugal, as its exclusive content provider for the 2021 season, expanding the league’s footprint in Europe.
ELEVEN will carry each PFL event across the Regular Season, Playoff and Championship, and viewers in Portugal will have the ability to watch the unmatched broadcast and streaming production that showcases MMA in a true season format for the first time.
“We are very excited to partner with such an influential network like ELEVEN which will be the exclusive provider of PFL content for the passionate fan base in Portugal,” said PFL CEO, Peter Murray. “With our continued international expansion efforts and our world class fighter roster, PFL continues to entertain MMA fans from around the world with unmatched live event coverage and unique storytelling capabilities.”
“ELEVEN is dedicated to bringing the best premium sports content to fans in Portugal, from the UEFA Champions League, to LaLiga, Bundesliga, Ligue 1, F1, F2, F3, Formula E, NASCAR, WTA and the NFL,” said Jorge Pavão de Sousa, ELEVEN Portugal Managing Director. “The Professional Fighters League is a great addition to our portfolio of LIVE rights and we’re looking forward to bringing the competition to our viewers this season.”
Original programming created by PFL Studios – a fully integrated global media division of the Professional Fighters League producing original MMA content for all platforms including television, digital and mobile – will also be included.
ELEVEN is an award-winning platform delivering world-class entertainment to dedicated fans, with the UEFA Champions League, Formula 1, F2, F3, Formula E, NASCAR, NFL, WTA and top European soccer leagues among its portfolio of LIVE rights in Portugal.
The 2021 PFL season will begin on April 23 on ESPN 2, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+ in prime time in the United States. In Portugal, customers of ELEVEN can enjoy all 2021 PFL's season exclusively on their network. The other regular season events will take place on April 29, May 6, June 10, June 17 and June 25.
PFL has quickly established itself as the no. 2 MMA company in the world with distribution on ESPN in the U.S. and to more than 160 countries via premium sports networks and platforms and has experienced tremendous YoY growth across digital channels – 68% follower increase on Instagram, 30% total audience growth across digital, and a 200% social engagement spike.
About Professional Fighters League
Professional Fighters League (PFL) is the first and only to present MMA in the sports-season format where individual fighters compete in Regular Season, Playoffs, and Championship. PFL is the innovation leader with the PFL SmartCage delivering viewers on-screen fight analytics and real-time prop bets. PFL Roster is second to none with 25% of its fighters ranked in the top 25 in their weight-class. All PFL 2021 Season events are live primetime on ESPN2/ESPN+ in the U.S. and available on leading broadcast and streaming outlets in 160 countries worldwide.
For more info visit www.PFLmma.com and follow PFL on Instagram (@PFLmma), Twitter (@ProFightLeague), and Facebook (/PFLmma).
About ELEVEN
ELEVEN SPORTS is an award-winning media platform dedicated to delivering the best international and domestic sport to fans around the world. ELEVEN was founded in 2015 by leading Italian sports and media entrepreneur Andrea Radrizzani with the ambition to serve sports fans in a new, accessible way. Andrea is also the Chairman and majority owner of Premier League club Leeds United and the sports and media investment platform Aser Ventures. Since its launch, ELEVEN has expanded into markets across Europe (Belgium, Poland, Portugal and Italy) and into Asia (Myanmar, Taiwan, Japan) and built up an extensive rights portfolio that includes Serie A (ELEVEN Poland, Belgium, Myanmar); Serie C (ELEVEN Italy), LaLiga (ELEVEN Belgium, Poland, Portugal) and the UEFA Champions League (ELEVEN Portugal). In 2020, ELEVEN launched its 'ELEVEN 2.0' strategy and completed the acquisition of streaming platform MyCujoo. The acquisition of MyCujoo has laid the foundations for a new global ElevenSports.com platform, which will launch with a focus on niche-premium and longtail sport. In March 2021, ELEVEN announced the acquisition of Team Whsitle. For more visit www.elevensports.com
