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DAZN to target national media rights deals in U.S. market, exec says
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- DAZN to target national media rights deals in U.S. market, exec says
Credit: Tomohiro Ohsumi/Bloomberg
Just as sports streaming platform DAZN prepares to make its biggest splash in the U.S. market yet by partnering with 10 NBA teams for local in-market streaming deals this season, the company's chief executive says its sights are set on national deals in the future.
Speaking with Derek Futterman of Sports Media Watch earlier this week , DAZN CEO/growth markets Pete Oliver said the company is "absolutely" looking at national media rights deals in the U.S., adding that an expanded portfolio of local rights could emulate a national product, but that DAZN is also interested in more traditional national packages as well.
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The news comes as DAZN is set to debut as the exclusive local broadcast partner for five NBA teams — the Cavaliers, Pacers, Grizzlies, Timberwolves, and Spurs — later this month, while also serving as the streaming partner for five additional NBA teams — the Nets, Hornets, Magic, Knicks, and Capitals. Per prior reports, DAZN sees its entry into local NBA broadcasting as a potential springboard to a larger package of local NBA rights down the line, when the league plans to launch a centralized streaming hub for in-market local broadcast rights. The anticipated launch of that streaming hub is before the 2027-28 season.
Oliver did not mention any specific national rights packages. Rather, he mentioned the possibility as part of DAZN's larger ambitions in the U.S. market.
"We'll have to look closely at the structure of the tenders, and clearly the incumbents get a period of time in which they can negotiate as well," Oliver told SMW, "but for us, it actually makes more sense to build from the ground up with the regional rights, and we would be quite happy actually just growing the regional rights portfolio and having that as our thing as what we do."
He continued:
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"[I]f you have enough regional coverage, you have a national feel to you, and we'll see where national rights go. We're not going to be irrational, we're not going to buy rights for billions of dollars or to lose money, but we want to be super relevant here in the U.S."
DAZN is still fighting an uphill battle in terms of name recognition in the U.S. market. The streamer has primarily focused on combat sports along with one-off properties like the FIFA Club World Cup in the U.S. so far. That will change later this month, when it begins working alongside one-third of NBA teams to distribute local broadcasts.
If the streamer is successful in its NBA venture, there's no reason it couldn't start to be viewed as a viable partner by other leagues when it comes to national rights deals.
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