International streaming service DAZN is coming to the U.S., and while details on specifically what that will entail are scarce at present, they’ll definitely be showing boxing. DAZN and parent company Perform Group announced Thursday afternoon that they’ve signed an eight-year, $1 billion deal with boxing promoter Matchroom Boxing, which will cover 16 new fight nights a year from venues across the U.S. plus Matchroom’s existing 16 fight nights annually in Britain. Those fights will be available to subscribers in all current DAZN markets (Austria, Germany, Japan, Switzerland, and Canada) at no extra cost, but even more notably, they’ll be available in the U.S. on DAZN.
DAZN declined to offer details on how much of their other content will be available in the U.S. and what the U.S. pricing will be (they do indicate that ” None of the fight nights will be on PPV, all will be available for one monthly fee and no long term contract.”), but from their release, it sounds like this is the first step in a larger expansion Stateside. And there are some particularly notable comments there from new Perform Group executive chairman John Skipper (the former ESPN president, who officially joined Perform Monday and will be based out of New York, perhaps another sign of the company expanding its U.S. ambitions):
Simon Denyer, CEO of Perform Group, said: “Perform Group has a rich history of long term strategic partnerships with the best rights holders in world. I’m excited about working with Matchroom; we share the same passion and vision for reigniting boxing in the US and it’s time for DAZN to provide an exciting new platform for these great events. It’s a better deal for everyone – especially fight fans.”
John Skipper, who on Monday joined Perform Group as Executive Chairman said: “DAZN has already proven itself in Japan, Germany and Canada as the best platform for delivering great live sport to passionate fans. It’s time to bring DAZN to America and the amazing events we have planned with Matchroom is a great place to start”.
Matchroom Boxing is UK-based and has a long history of working with Perform Group, which is also UK-based (and is the parent company of The Sporting News and other ventures as well as DAZN). Led by managing director Eddie Hearn, they have plenty of notable fighters in their stable, including Anthony Joshua, Carl Froch, Katie Taylor and Amir Khan. They first ventured into the U.S. last September by signing Daniel Jacobs, and have done two shows in New York City so far. We’ll see just how much interest there is in this new venture of theirs, and just how much of a DAZN expansion it leads to, but it’s certainly notable to see a deal of this magnitude signed, and to see it serving as DAZN’s entry point into the U.S. market.
