DAZN, the ‘Netflix of Sports,’ Eyes Global Expansion Into 200 Markets
DAZN, the streaming service that is looking to make itself the Netflix of sports, will soon be going global, company executives shared on Monday morning.
The company, pronounced “da zone,” is looking to expand from its nine current markets to about 200 markets, according to DAZN chairman — and former ESPN president — John Skipper.
“We’re more interested in being the global leader in sports than the world-wide leader in sports in the United States,” Skipper told The Wall Street Journal, while alluding to his former employer’s tagline.
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The service, which offers high-end boxing matches and international soccer, among other choices, has about 8 million paid subscribers, according to WSJ. DAZN runs $19.99 per month or $99.99 per year. Beyond the U.S., DAZN is also available in Austria, Brazil, Germany, Italy, Japan, Canada, Spain and Switzerland.
With DAZN soon entering the U.K., the company has set its sights on the crown jewel of English sports: Premier League soccer. Skipper, in an interview with The Guardian, said DAZN will look at securing the domestic rights to the country’s top draw when they’re available.
“The UK is a logical DAZN market,” Skipper said. “In terms of the rights in this country, obviously you need Premier League rights, boxing is very important here and tennis is very important here.”
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At the end of 2019, DAZN grabbed the rights to Champions League soccer in Germany, starting next year. The company also offers Champions League and Premier League games to its customers in Canada and Japan.
DAZN launched in 2016 and first debuted in the U.S. in 2018. Overall, DAZN is spending between $1 billion and $1.5 billion per year on sports rights, according to WSJ.
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