Serie A: Eleven Sports gain TV rights from BT in three-year deal

Juventus lift the Scudetto
Juventus won their seventh consecutive Serie A title in 2017-18

BT Sport has lost the live TV rights to Serie A matches in the UK and Ireland after Eleven Sports secured an exclusive three-year deal.

Owned by the Leeds United chairman Andrea Radrizzani, Eleven Sports also gained the rights to Spain's La Liga from Sky in May and intends to launch two new channels.

The deal starts in August and runs until the end of the 2020-21 season.

It ends BT Sport's six-year association with Italy's top league.

Eleven Sports executive chairman Marc Watson said: "Serie A has a dedicated following in the UK and Ireland and there is now added interest following Juventus' signing of global superstar Cristiano Ronaldo."

Eleven Sports will show both competitions via an online streaming platform after partnering with global sports media group IMG.

They are also in talks with other distribution platforms to widen availability, which means they could sub-license some games to other broadcasters.