Winning In The Streaming World Takes Huge Ambition And Lots Of Money

Michael Hedges September 28, 2022 Follow on Twitter

Sports media has set itself apart from mainstream media by super-serving sports fans. Big general interest broadcasters and publishers have been paying attention. It could be too late.

Sports streamer DAZN made its mark by offering everything from combat sports to football, live and on-demand. Sometimes this has meant second-tier events, recognizing that fans are fans and all sports are essentially local. The business has been quite successful.

In a rather bold growth through acquisition strategy, DAZN announced it is buying sports streamer Eleven, reported Sports Pro Media (September 27). Eleven holds major football rights in Portugal and Belgium, partial rights in Poland and “expands its reach” into Asia with rights to 40,000 football matches globally. Eleven’s Team Whistle social media marketing subsidiary is also included. It facilitates merchandise sales and the all-important in-game betting. With the acquisition also comes well-developed technology benefits.

When the deal closes, DAZN will be able to offer major football league matches in Belgium, Germany, Italy, Japan, Portugal and Spain plus a big slice of Asian football. Eleven Sports founder Andrea Radrizzani will join the DAZN board as executive director. No financial details were disclosed nor a specific closing date pending competition regulators approvals. “It fits very well to our strategy,” said chief executive Shay Segev to the BBC (September 28). “We see DAZN as a destination for global sports.”

Eleven Sports was founded in 2015 as a sports rights holder principally owned by Aser Ventures, the investment of the aforementioned Mr. Radrizzani. It is based in the UK while Team Whistle is based in the US. Aser Ventures is majority shareholder in UK football team Leeds United.

DAZN was formed about the same time by Access Industries, the investment vehicle of billionaire Len Blavatnik. It has roared into 200 national and local markets with sports programming via streaming video on demand (SVOD). It holds comprehensive major sports rights. Principal executives come from direct marketing, sports betting and social media marketing. In June DAZN signed a US$100 million package with British boxer Anthony Joshua that includes “brand ambassador.” DAZN also sells NFTs and is “experimenting with the metaverse.” Alas, DAZN failed in its attempt to acquire BT Sports earlier this year when Warner Bros. Discovery and BT Group formed a joint venture to take it over.

Like all providers of live event television DAZN was wounded by coronavirus pandemic lockdowns. The company had never been profitable and for those two years times got tougher. Mr. Blavatnik “injected” US$4.3 billion in February. Company executives were thinking about finance, reportedly an IPO (initial public offering). That, possibly related to the Eleven Sports acquisition, is no longer happening, said executive VP Joe Markowski to the incomparable Axios media reporter Sara Fischer (September 27).

"I wouldn't say it's front and center of our of our minds,” he said. Different medium-term ideas are “being discussed” but “none of those are being planned right now. "Our key focus obviously, is driving profitability and all of our markets.”

Almost related, Apple Music will be the official sponsor of the US NFL Super Bowl halftime show next February, reported TechCrunch (September 27). Booted from the official sponsorship is Pepsi. The star of the widely watched Super Bowl halftime show will be Rihanna. Apple Music is on a tear to best Spotify in the world of streaming music. Then, too, Apple TV+ is streaming US Major League Baseball and US Major League Soccer.

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