DAZN continues to make inroads in the American sports market. But this time, the London-based streaming company is targeting commercial establishments.
DAZN announced on Wednesday that it will acquire EverPass, the joint venture between the NFL and RedBird Capital that distributes live sports to commercial establishments like bars, restaurants, and casinos, through its proprietary streaming technology. EverPass holds commercial distribution rights for several major sports properties, including NFL Sunday Ticket. The company will be rebranded under DAZN ownership as DAZN for Business.
In recent months, DAZN has made an aggressive play for direct-to-consumer sports rights in the United States. The streamer has inked deals with five NBA teams for local broadcasts and plans to add five more before the season. These deals are a mix of exclusive and non-exclusive, but the signal is clear: DAZN is looking to break into the U.S. sports broadcasting market in a big way. Buying EverPass, one of the leading companies in commercial distribution of sports broadcasts, helps DAZN strengthen that foothold.
The news comes after a turbulent few months for EverPass, at least in terms of angst from bar owners over what appeared to be new restrictions on how they’d be able to access NFL Sunday Ticket. Until last month, EverPass informed commercial establishments that subscribed to NFL Sunday Ticket that they would need to transition to EverPass’s streaming infrastructure in order to receive the package this season. When EverPass took over commercial distribution for the NFL package in 2023, it licensed satellite distribution to DirecTV, allowing bar owners to continue accessing Sunday Ticket via satellite. Many bars and restaurants already have DirecTV’s satellite infrastructure in place, and the transition to streaming would have proven onerous, not to mention unreliable, in many establishments.
Fast-forward to this offseason, and EverPass told commercial establishments, in no uncertain words, that they’d need to make the transition from satellite to streaming if they wanted access to NFL Sunday Ticket. Many bar owners took them at their word and made the expensive switch, only for EverPass to renew its satellite licensing deal with DirecTV at the eleventh hour, reportedly for several years. Some bar owners speculated to Awful Announcing that the maneuvering could be grounds for a legal challenge.
Nevertheless, EverPass offers DAZN another point of leverage when negotiating with leagues. If the true goal is to become a bigger player in consumer-facing sports broadcasts, owning a large player in commercial distribution could potentially give DAZN a leg up to achieve those ends.
About Drew Lerner
Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.