SPORTS streaming service DAZN will launch in the UK this summer in a move that could mean big changes for the way fans watch their favourite events.
DAZN – dubbed the ‘Netflix of sport’ – have revealed they are expanding to over 200 countries and territories having had great success in the nine countries they broadcast in so far.
Canelo’s expected fight against Billy Joe Saunders will kick-off DAZN’s global launch
They play to bring boxing to the UK beginning with Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez against Billy Joe Saunders on May 2.
Here is what it means for sports fans and Sky Sports subscribers in the United Kingdom.
What is DAZN?
Pronounced ‘Duh Zone’ is a London-based online sports streaming subscription service currently operates in Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Japan, Canada, the United States, Italy, Spain and Brazil.
A vast array of sports are on offer, depending on your region, from basketball and baseball to rugby union, PDC darts and MMA.
Loosely described as a ‘Netflix of sport’ the company in fact has a far harder task by broadcasting live events around the globe.
Anthony Joshua’s defence against Kubrat Pulev will be on Sky Sports in the UKCredit: PA:Press Association
When does DAZN launch in UK?
May 2 will be the first time the company, owned by Ukrainian billionaire Len Blavatnik, broadcasts an event in the United Kingdom.
Four-weight Mexican boxing superstar Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, who signed an exclusive 11-fight $365m (£285m) deal with DAZN in October 2018, will fight on the biggest holiday of the Mexican calendar, Cinco de Mayo.
From then on they will be able to show all Golden Boy, GGG and Matchroom USA shows in the UK.
How much will it cost?
Early indications suggest the opening offer will be around £4.99 per calendar month for early birds who snap up an introductory offer.
In America, early subscribers landed a deal for $9.99 pcm but that recently rose to $19.99 pcm and an annual subscription is $99.99.
What is Eddie Hearn’s deal with DAZN?
When DAZN decided to focus a lot of their resources on boxing they approached British promoter and Matchroom boss Eddie Hearn to help them crack the market.
In May 2018 Hearn was handed $1bn (£780million) war chest to make 32 cards per-year. That includes 16 Sky Sports PPV shows and 16 held in the United States.
The initial deal was for two years but there is a six-year extension option if it is successful.
What does this mean for Sky?
Just another competitor to add to the list alongside current rivals BT Sport and Amazon Prime and potential competition from Facebook, Netflix, Google and Apple, along the line.
Sky Sports will still retain the rights to all of the Matchroom UK shows and will be able to bid for other shows like the Tyson Fury vs Deontay Wilder III fight in July that is likely to end up on BT again.
When does Matchroom’s current deal with Sky end?
Matchroom Sports – which includes the hugely popular PDC darts and snooker coverage – signed a five-year deal with Sky Sports in 2018. But the current Matchroom boxing agreement runs from 2015 – 2021.
Which fights will DAZN show in the UK?
DAZN now holds international rights show Golden Boy Promotions – who have Canelo and rising star Ryan Garcia on their books.
Matchroom Boxing USA, which boasts world champions like Devin Haney and Demetrious Andrade. And GGG Promotions, home to middleweight monster Gennady Golovkin.
Anthony Joshua has a deal with Sky Sports to show all his fights live in the UK until 2021Credit: AFP or licensors
Will AJ fight on DAZN or Sky in UK?
In August 2018, Anthony Joshua signed a three-year deal extension to have his fights shown exclusively in the UK on Sky Sports Box Office.
The Wembley win over Alexander Povetkin was the first of the new terms and the two Andy Ruiz Jr fights swiftly followed.
The mandatory defence against Kubrat Pulev will be in the same place.
If AJ were to fight BT Sport-backed Tyson Fury at the end of the year in an undisputed decider, negotiations would begin about UK rights.
Though Fury’s UK promoter Frank Warren is open to a split deal where both broadcasters show the battle.
Sky Sports could bid to show Tyson Fury’s trilogy bout against Deontay WilderCredit: AFP or licensors
Is this the end of pay-per-views?
DAZN certainly believe that the time for PPVs is over.
In October British executive Joe Markowski told SunSport: “A US subscriber will pay around 250 dollars for a cable subscription – an equivalent to the BT or Sky Sports channels – but then all of the major fights are 80 to 90 bucks on top of that.
“That cost barrier has meant numbers have declined, when I was in my twenties sharing a flat with friends I could never have afforded to have spent that sum on sport content.
“Young people are just not watching boxing in the numbers they used to.
“We are coaching a new way of working that does not have pay-per-view as the holy grail.”
But the PPV buys for Wilder vs Fury 2 were impressive and broadcasters like Sky Sports and ShowTime still back the model.
Will DAZN get Premier League rights as well?
The company has made it clear that making themselves the global home of fight sports is “just the first step” so we can expect aggressive growth once they are established.
Any broadcaster looking to make a dent in the UK market must have Premier League football but the model in which to do it best remains unclear.
Amazon broke into the market in June 2018, taking 20 games a season for £90m that started in December last year.
On Boxing Day they broadcast all nine Premier League matches, with six of them at the same 3pm KO time.
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
