DAZN
DAZN is an English over-the-top subscription sports streaming service. The service carries live and on-demand streaming of events from various properties. DAZN was first launched in Austria, Germany, Switzerland and Japan in August 2016, and in Canada the following year. It launched in the United States and Italy in 2018, and in Spain and Brazil in 2019.
The service was originally established in 2016 by Perform Group, a sports media company majority-owned by Access Industries that also owns Goal.com and Sporting News. Former ESPN CEO John Skipper became DAZN's chairman in 2018, working from offices in New York City. In September 2018, Perform Group spun out its sports data businesses, and renamed the remainder of the company DAZN Group.
In December 2018, DAZN was estimated to be worth £3 billion: it was described by the Evening Standard as one of the United Kingdom's few tech "unicorns". In October 2019, mobile analytics firm SensorTower listed DAZN as having overtaken Major League Baseball as the highest-grossing sports-related mobile app in the first half of 2019 in terms of worldwide revenue on application storefronts.
History
Prior to its launch, Perform Group announced its acquisition of exclusive worldwide media rights to Japanese J.League football under a 10-year, ¥210 billion contract, succeeding a ¥5 billion deal with SKY Perfect. Under the contract, all matches from the three J.League divisions would be broadcast by DAZN beginning in 2017. The league described the contract as being the largest broadcast rights deal in the history of Japanese sport.DAZN first launched in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland on 10 August 2016, closely followed by Japan on 23 August 2016.
In February 2018, DAZN sub-licensed Japanese rights to the B.League, Nippon Professional Baseball, La Liga, and the Premier League from Softbank, after the company announced that it would shut down its Sportsnavi Live service at the end of May. As part of the arrangement, DAZN offered a promotional offer for former Sportsnavi customers.
Canadian launch
In July 2017, DAZN announced that it would expand into Canada, after having acquired OTT streaming rights to the National Football League in Canada, including NFL Game Pass and access to NFL RedZone; as a result of the deal, television providers would no longer sell the out-of-market sports package NFL Sunday Ticket to residential customers. The DAZN deal does not affect the NFL's newly-extended linear television rights deal with Bell Media. On 8 August 2017, DAZN reached a deal to sublicense content from beIN Sports Canada, including selected UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League matches, as well as other international sports rights.The Canadian launch was met with technical issues; DAZN apologized for the "inadequate service" that it delivered, and stated that it was working to rectify them. However, users still reported problems, including inconsistent stream qualities, buffering, and latency between the streams and television broadcasts. As a result, DAZN began to distribute NFL Sunday Ticket to television providers in October 2017, as had been the case before. On 20 November 2017, DAZN acquired Canadian rights to FIBA events.
In February 2018, DAZN acquired Canadian broadcast rights to the 2018 Commonwealth Games, and subsumed Major League Soccer's digital out-of-market service MLS Live — with live and on-demand streaming of matches featuring U.S. teams. Roku support was also added that month. In March, DAZN reached a syndication deal to carry content from Pac-12 Network on the service in Canada.
On 25 May 2018, DAZN announced that it had acquired exclusive Canadian rights to the UEFA Champions League and Europa League, beginning in the 2018–19 season and replacing TSN. In April 2019, DAZN announced that it had acquired Canadian rights to the Premier League, replacing Sportsnet and TSN, under a three-year deal.
U.S. launch, combat sports expansions
On 8 May 2018, DAZN announced that it had hired former ESPN president John Skipper as executive chairman. Skipper stated that he eventually wanted DAZN to compete directly with traditional U.S. cable sports networks.Two days later, DAZN announced that it would launch in the United States, and that it had reached a major broadcasting deal with Eddie Hearn's Matchroom Sport. Under the deal, DAZN streams 32 cards per-year, including 16 British Sky Sports Box Office cards, as well as 16 held in the United States. Hearn claimed that the deal, which will last for at least two years, with an option for a six-year extension, was a "groundbreaking deal in the history of boxing".
On 26 June 2018, DAZN announced a five-year streaming rights deal with the Viacom-owned mixed martial arts promotion Bellator, which began with Bellator 206 on 29 September 2018, and includes the U.S. and all other regions currently served by DAZN. The rights include seven exclusive events per-year, as well as all events televised by Paramount Network.
DAZN officially launched in the U.S. in September 2018, ahead of its first boxing event—Anthony Joshua vs. Alexander Povetkin, on 22 September. Its launch content also included the World Boxing Super Series, as well as the AFC Champions League, the Chilean Primera Division, J-League and other content. DAZN's broadcast team for its U.S. boxing events is led by "Sugar" Ray Leonard and Brian Kenny on play-by-play, with LZ Granderson as ringside reporter, and Michael Buffer as ring announcer. Buffer appeared in a U.S. marketing campaign for the service, which contrasted DAZN's subscription model to traditional pay-per-views.
In September 2018, DAZN's parent company Perform Group underwent a reorganization, with its sports data business spun into a second company known as Perform Content, and its consumer properties retained as DAZN Group.
On 17 October 2018, DAZN announced that it had signed a five-year, 11-fight deal with Mexican boxer Canelo Álvarez valued at a minimum of $365 million, beginning with his then-upcoming bout against Rocky Fielding in December for the WBA super middleweight title. Álvarez was previously aligned with HBO, which had announced that it would discontinue boxing broadcasts. The contract overtook Giancarlo Stanton's $325 million contract with the Miami Marlins as the highest-valued contract with a single athlete in sport.
In November 2018, Major League Baseball announced a three-year content partnership with DAZN, which includes on-demand highlights, and ChangeUp—a live nightly studio program featuring look-ins and analysis. Hosted by former ESPN Baseball Tonight anchor Adnan Virk. it was described by executive producer Logan Swaim as stylistically mixing elements of NFL RedZone and his previous role Good Morning Football, and considered part of a goal to offer more content relating to mainstream, non-combat sports.
Further expansion
DAZN launched in Italy in August 2018, with an acquisition of exclusive rights to 114 Serie A matches beginning in the 2018-19 season, and other domestic rights on launch including the European Rugby Champions Cup, Showtime Championship Boxing, UFC programming, and the World Rally Championship, alongside DAZN's global rights portfolio. The following September, DAZN announced that in order to improve the accessibility of its Serie A rights, it would begin to offer a subscription-based linear channel on Sky Italia's satellite service, carrying selected content from the service.In January 2019, DAZN acquired the rights to broadcast the 2019 AFC Asian Cup in Canada and the United States, beginning with the quarter-finals. In March 2019, DAZN doubled its U.S. monthly cost, but also introduced a new yearly option at a discount.
DAZN launched in Spain in February 2019, becoming its eighth market. The service went live with a roster of exclusive premium sport content including MotoGP, Moto 2 and Moto3, EuroLeague, EuroCup and Premier League. Other rights included FA Cup, Carabao Cup, Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana, EFL Championship, UFC, Golden Boy, Matchroom Boxing, and PDC Darts.
On 8 March 2019, DAZN signed a three-year, six-fight deal with Gennady Golovkin, under which it would broadcast two fights per-year. The contract also includes two cards per-year from Golovkin's GGG Promotions beginning in 2020. The deal began with his June 2019 bout against Canadian boxer Steve Rolls: Golovkin's promoter explained that the choice of a Canadian boxer was intended to help encourage DAZN subscriptions in the country. Golovkin cited the broadcaster's "global vision" as an influence on the decision.
In May 2019, former ESPN and Fox Sports executive Jamie Horowitz became DAZN's head of content. Also that month, the service announced an expansion into Brazil as its ninth market, acquiring rights to the Copa Sudamericana and Campeonato Brasileiro Série C, and other international football competitions among other properties.
In July 2019, DAZN's then CEO Simon Denyer told Bloomberg News that the company was interested in pursuing rights to the NFL in the United States to some degree. That month, DAZN also reached a syndication deal with Eurosport in Austria, Germany, Italy, and Spain, allowing DAZN subscribers to access live and on-demand sports programming from Eurosport in these regions. In addition, DAZN sub-licensed 45 Bundesliga matches from Eurosport in Germany and Austria over the next two seasons — with 39 exclusive to the service.
On 2 March 2020, DAZN announced that it would expand into 200 countries worldwide, with an initial focus on giving wider distribution to its boxing and original content portfolio. The launch was originally scheduled for 2 May 2020 but was rescheduled to 24 July. With the COVID-19 pandemic resulting in widespread suspension of international sport, DAZN stated in late-March 2020 that it would not pay rightsholders for content that had not been delivered under their contracts.
Programming
Sports rights
Noted sports rights held by DAZN include:| Sport | Competition | Austria | Germany | Japan | Switzerland | Canada | Italy | USA | Spain | Brazil |
| Association football | FIFA Women's World Cup | |||||||||
| Association football | FIFA World Cup qualification | |||||||||
| Association football | UEFA Euro qualifying | |||||||||
| Association football | UEFA Nations League | |||||||||
| Association football | Germany women's national football team | |||||||||
| Association football | AFC Asian Cup | |||||||||
| Association football | Copa América | |||||||||
| Association football | Argentina national football team | |||||||||
| Association football | Brasil Global Tour | |||||||||
| Association football | CONCACAF Gold Cup | |||||||||
| Association football | Africa Cup of Nations | |||||||||
| Association football | FIFA Club World Cup | |||||||||
| Association football | UEFA Champions League | |||||||||
| Association football | UEFA Europa League | |||||||||
| Association football | UEFA Super Cup | |||||||||
| Association football | UEFA Youth League | |||||||||
| Association football | UEFA Women's Champions League | |||||||||
| Association football | Premier League | |||||||||
| Association football | English Football League | |||||||||
| Association football | FA Cup | |||||||||
| Association football | EFL Cup | |||||||||
| Association football | FA Community Shield | |||||||||
| Association football | La Liga | |||||||||
| Association football | Segunda División | |||||||||
| Association football | Copa del Rey | |||||||||
| Association football | Bundesliga | |||||||||
| Association football | 2. Bundesliga | |||||||||
| Association football | DFB-Pokal | |||||||||
| Association football | DFL-Supercup | |||||||||
| Association football | Frauen-Bundesliga | |||||||||
| Association football | Serie A | |||||||||
| Association football | Serie B | |||||||||
| Association football | Coppa Italia | |||||||||
| Association football | Supercoppa Italiana | |||||||||
| Association football | Ligue 1 | |||||||||
| Association football | Ligue 2 | |||||||||
| Association football | Coupe de France | |||||||||
| Association football | Trophée des Champions | |||||||||
| Association football | Primeira Liga | |||||||||
| Association football | Eredivisie | |||||||||
| Association football | Süper Lig | |||||||||
| Association football | Scottish Premiership | |||||||||
| Association football | Scottish League Cup | |||||||||
| Association football | Eliteserien | |||||||||
| Association football | Chinese Super League | |||||||||
| Association football | J1 League | |||||||||
| Association football | J2 League | |||||||||
| Association football | J3 League | |||||||||
| Association football | A-League | |||||||||
| Association football | CONMEBOL Libertadores | |||||||||
| Association football | CONMEBOL Sudamericana | |||||||||
| Association football | CONMEBOL Recopa | |||||||||
| Association football | CONMEBOL Libertadores Femenina | |||||||||
| Association football | Brasileirão Série C | |||||||||
| Association football | Campeonato Paranaense | |||||||||
| Association football | Major League Soccer | |||||||||
| Association football | Liga MX | |||||||||
| Association football | CAF Champions League | |||||||||
| Association football | CAF Confederation Cup | |||||||||
| Association football | International Champions Cup | |||||||||
| Association football | Audi Cup | |||||||||
| American football | National Football League | |||||||||
| American football | NCAA | |||||||||
| Athletics | World Athletics Continental Tour | |||||||||
| Baseball | Major League Baseball | |||||||||
| Baseball | Nippon Professional Baseball | |||||||||
| Basketball | FIBA Basketball World Cup | |||||||||
| Basketball | FIBA Intercontinental Cup | |||||||||
| Basketball | NBA | |||||||||
| Basketball | NCAA | |||||||||
| Basketball | EuroLeague | |||||||||
| Basketball | EuroCup | |||||||||
| Basketball | Basketball Champions League | |||||||||
| Basketball | Liga ACB | |||||||||
| Basketball | Copa del Rey | |||||||||
| Basketball | Supercopa de España | |||||||||
| Basketball | Lega Basket Serie A | |||||||||
| Basketball | Lega Basket Final Eight | |||||||||
| Basketball | Lega Basket Supercoppa | |||||||||
| Basketball | B.League | |||||||||
| Basketball | Basketball Champions League Americas | |||||||||
| Basketball | NBB | |||||||||
| Beach volleyball | FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour | |||||||||
| Bowling | Matchroom Sport | |||||||||
| Combat sports | UFC | |||||||||
| Combat sports | Bellator MMA | |||||||||
| Combat sports | Combate Americas | |||||||||
| Combat sports | Road Fighting Championship | |||||||||
| Combat sports | Golden Boy | |||||||||
| Combat sports | Matchroom Sport | |||||||||
| Combat sports | Top Rank | |||||||||
| Combat sports | Premier Boxing Champions | |||||||||
| Combat sports | World Boxing Super Series | |||||||||
| Combat sports | Glory | |||||||||
| Combat sports | Extreme Fighting Championship | |||||||||
| Combat sports | Jungle Fight | |||||||||
| Combat sports | Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki | |||||||||
| Combat sports | Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship | |||||||||
| Combat sports | GGG Promotions | |||||||||
| Cricket | England home matches | |||||||||
| Cricket | Pakistan home matches | |||||||||
| Cricket | Sri Lanka home matches | |||||||||
| Cricket | West Indies home matches | |||||||||
| Cricket | Caribbean Premier League | |||||||||
| Cue sports | World Snooker | |||||||||
| Cue sports | Matchroom Sport | |||||||||
| Cycling | UCI World Tour | |||||||||
| Darts | Professional Darts Corporation | |||||||||
| eSports | Blast Premier Spring Series | |||||||||
| eSports | Kick-Off Electronic League | |||||||||
| Field hockey | Men's FIH Pro League | |||||||||
| Field hockey | Women's FIH Pro League | |||||||||
| Field hockey | Euro Hockey League | |||||||||
| Fishing | Matchroom Sport | |||||||||
| Golf | PGA European Tour | |||||||||
| Gymnastics | The Superstars of Gymnastics | |||||||||
| Ice hockey | National Hockey League | |||||||||
| Ice hockey | KHL | |||||||||
| Motorsport | Formula One | |||||||||
| Motorsport | Formula 2 | |||||||||
| Motorsport | Formula 3 | |||||||||
| Motorsport | Formula E | |||||||||
| Motorsport | MotoGP | |||||||||
| Motorsport | WorldSBK | |||||||||
| Motorsport | MXGP | |||||||||
| Motorsport | IndyCar Series | |||||||||
| Motorsport | World Rally Championship | |||||||||
| Motorsport | NASCAR Cup Series | |||||||||
| Motorsport | DTM | |||||||||
| Motorsport | FIM CEV | |||||||||
| Motorsport | British Talent Cup | |||||||||
| Professional wrestling | WWE | |||||||||
| Professional wrestling | Major League Wrestling | |||||||||
| Rugby union | Rugby World Cup | |||||||||
| Rugby union | Six Nations | |||||||||
| Rugby union | European Rugby Champions Cup | |||||||||
| Rugby union | European Rugby Challenge Cup | |||||||||
| Rugby union | Premiership Rugby | |||||||||
| Rugby union | Pro14 | |||||||||
| Rugby union | Top League | |||||||||
| Sailing | SailGP | |||||||||
| Table tennis | World Championship of Ping Pong | |||||||||
| Tennis | Australian Open | |||||||||
| Tennis | US Open | |||||||||
| Tennis | French Open | |||||||||
| Tennis | ATP Tour 250 | |||||||||
| Tennis | WTA Tour | |||||||||
| Tennis | Davis Cup | |||||||||
| Tennis | Fed Cup | |||||||||
| Winter sports | FIS | |||||||||
| Winter sports | IBU | |||||||||
| Volleyball | V.League | |||||||||
| Volleyball | CEV |
Other sports rights
Sports rights which is sublicensed to other broadcasters or not used by DAZN:; Association football
- Premier League
Philippines: DAZN has exclusively rights for highlights only.
- La Liga
; Combat sports
- Gennady Golovkin: DAZN has global exclusively rights.
- Golden Boy: DAZN has global exclusively rights.
- Matchroom Sport: DAZN has global exclusively rights, excluding Matchroom UK in United Kingdom.
Original content
In July 2019, former Indianapolis Colts punter and WWE personality Pat McAfee signed a content deal with DAZN, which added television simulcasts of his podcast and new syndicated, daily radio show to the service, as well as contributions to shoulder content for DAZN's NFL rights.
Device support
DAZN supports online streaming on personal computers, as well as mobile apps on Android and iOS, digital media players and smart TVs, and video game consoles.In September 2019, Comcast reached a deal with DAZN to offer an app for the service its Xfinity X1 cable boxes, becoming the first U.S. television provider to offer support for the service within their platform.