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In 2018, DAZN jumped into the streaming market, looking to grab immediate attention and solidify its position as the Netflix of sports streaming. Its biggest move was to sign a “billion dollar deal” with Eddie Hahn’s Matchroom Boxing Promotions to seal his eight-year deal. This included exclusive broadcast rights to his Matchroom stable, where his 16 shows were staged each year in the mainland United States, mostly British martial artists.
Only five years later, DAZN is one of many streaming platforms in the world. It’s a very crowded space, and while DAZN remains the go-to subscription for boxing fans, the platform struggles to break into the wider sports space. A major coup attempt in 2022 failed, leaving DAZN in a precarious position in the UK sports market.
The driving force behind sports streaming in the UK
It’s no secret that football is the biggest driver of sports streaming in the UK. Analysis of streaming searches shows that ‘Stream Man City’, ‘Stream Man Utd’, ‘Stream Liverpool’ and ‘Stream Chelsea’ have all seen a significant increase in popularity and interest since August 2021. It became clear. Liverpool are clearly the most popular club. Stream in the UK.
These numbers show DAZN’s recent unsuccessful attempt to acquire BT Sport. It is his second owner of the Premier League TV rights and also owner of the Champions League and Europa League TV rights. Boxing is not in the top five after football, with rugby, cricket, Formula 1, tennis and golf rounding out the top six most popular sports.
Despite the plethora of British boxing talent currently competing for world honours, the sport is still a niche. The biggest promotions in the country are on niche streaming services, with many games in the US not suitable for live viewing. Growing in the UK seems to require platform acquisitions.
Billions Lost, But Record Boxing Viewership
Since 2016, DAZN has gradually added markets such as the UK, Germany, Japan, Canada, the US, Spain, Brazil, and finally went global in late 2020. $24.99 in Canada, €14.99 to €29.99 in Germany, £1.99 to £7.99 for entry in the UK. These price increases were arguably trying to dig DAZN out of a very large hole. Financial reports show losses of $1.3 billion in 2020 and a similarly huge loss in 2019. However, boxing viewership appears to have reached new heights since its global expansion efforts, with major 2022 events recording large numbers of viewers.
Katie Taylor vs. Amanda Serrano – rightly billed as the biggest women’s boxing match of all time – drew a global audience of 1.5 million and was awaited by an audience native to Ireland’s KT
After midnight, you can watch the historic rumble. Saul Alvarez vs. Gennady Golovkin III in Las Vegas amassed 1.06 million of his PPVs and subscriptions worldwide.
Given the costs DAZN had to face to get the platform off the ground and its failure to land live football in 2022, it’s hard to rate the gamble as a success so far. Of course, it’s just the beginning and boxing is certainly in a good place for talent, but the niche platform isn’t quite there yet in the UK.
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