Eleven appoints former DAZN VP as its managing director for Italy

Live sports streaming service provider and broadcaster Eleven has appointed a former DAZN vice president as its managing director in Italy.

Giovanni Zurleni, who was vice president of commercial and partnerships at DAZN from 2018 until 2019, will be responsible for further developing Eleven’s business and operations in Italy.

He replaces Mattia Baldassarre who will continue to support Eleven’s business development on a group-wide level as well as leading the Aser Ventures portfolio company Epico as chief executive and co-founder.

In his new job, Zurleni will work to deliver a first-class service to Eleven’s current subscribers and to engage new sports fans across the country, the company said.

He brings over 20 years of experience in the sports and sports media industries to the role. At DAWN he led business development strategy and execution, co-ordinating global and local distribution deals with key partners and managing relationships and activations with national and international rights holders.

Before that, he was commercial and marketing director for Lega B where he worked to maximise commercial revenues and branding opportunities for Serie B and its clubs, through an innovative centralised platform for marketing, media and digital services.

Zurleni also spent over a decade in senior roles with Serie A club Inter Milan where he was head of international brand and business development for five years.

Eleven chief executive Luis Vicente, discussing the appointment, said: “Giovanni brings with him a wealth of experience and a strong track record of driving innovation, business growth and sustainability over two decades in the sports industry. He has a passion for finding inventive solutions to engage and grow sports audiences and he will be a fantastic addition to our team.

“While welcoming Giovanni, I would like to thank Mattia for all his work as our Italy managing director and to wish him the very best with his new responsibilities with Eleven and Epico.”

In addition to his Eleven role, Zurleni becomes chief revenue officer for Italy for Eleven’s parent company Aser Ventures, with responsibility for driving partnerships and innovation, as well as identifying new commercial opportunities and developing strategic deals.

Zurleni added: “I’m excited to be working with Luis, Eleven’s founder Andrea Radrizzani and the rest of the Eleven team to engage Eleven’s subscribers in Italy in the best possible way. There is a massive opportunity to deliver for underserved fans in Italy and I’m looking forward to leading that effort, alongside my exceptional team and our partners.”

Eleven launched its Italy operation in 2017 with a purely digital offering and the mission to meet the demands of what it describes as underserved fans. Its online streaming platform and social media channels provide coverage of Serie C football and Super Lega volleyball.