DAZN is majority owned by Access Industries.
Founded: 2015
Country of origin: United Kingdom
Industry: Streaming
Owner: Access Industries (Majority owner)
Type of Company: Private
Headquarters: London, England
Website: www.dazn.com
What is DAZN?
DAZN is a global streaming platform, which hold exclusive rights to different sporting events in territories across the world, with all kinds of sports. They have deals with everything from FIFA and the Premier League to the NFL and the NBA. The vast library covers more than 40 different sports, and the platform often covers sports others wouldn’t. This means it has a very broad coverage with more than 20 million subscribers worldwide as of 2023.
In addition to regular streaming services, DAZN also offers pay-per views, especially for boxing, where they hold deals with Golden Boy Promotions and Matchroom Boxing worldwide, in addition to multiple other organizations in select regions.
Current Ownership
DAZN is majority-owned by Access Industries, which is the conglomerate founded and owned by Leonard “Len” Blavatnik. Access Industries acquired a majority stake in Perform Group in 2007, and in 2015, Perform Group launched their DAZN network.
The exact percentage that Access Industries own is uncertain. It was 85% in 2019, but a subsequent recapitalization by Blavatnik in 2022 might have increased this further.
History of DAZN
- 2015: Perform Group founds DAZN to be the streaming service for their diverse sports rights acquired through their work in the gambling industry.
- 2016: DAZN launches, intially in Austria, Germany, Japan, and Switzerland.
- 2017: Expanded into Canada and acquired streaming rights for the NFL and other sports.
- 2018: Entered the U.S. market with a focus on boxing and mixed martial arts; also launched in Italy.
- 2019: Expanded into Spain and Brazil, acquiring various sports broadcasting rights.
- 2020: Announced plans for global expansion into 200 additional countries.
- 2021: Former Entain CEO Shay Segev became CEO of DAZN; acquired exclusive Serie A broadcasting rights in Italy.
- 2022: Diversified its platform to include sports betting, gaming, merchandise, and ticketing; acquired global rights to the NFL’s Game Pass service outside of the U.S. and China.
- 2023: Signed a distribution deal with Amazon for streaming service on Amazon’s Prime Video Channel.
Who are Access Industries?
Access Industries is a privately held industrial group with long-term holdings worldwide. Founded in 1986 by Len Blavatnik, a British-American businessman, the group is active in various sectors including natural resources and chemicals, media and telecommunications, technology, real estate, and venture capital. Access Industries operates on a global scale, focusing on opportunities for growth and innovation across different industries.
Access Industries owns companies in everything from the oil industry, aluminium to media and telecommunications. They are majority-owners of Warner Music Group, and have made early-stage investment in tech companies such as Spotify, Zalando and Snapchat.
Where is DAZN Available?
DAZN is a global sports streaming service available in over 200 countries and territories worldwide. The platform has a particularly strong presence in countries such as Italy, Spain, Germany, Japan, France, Portugal, Belgium, Taiwan, the United States, and Canada, where it holds key domestic broadcast rights. DAZN’s extensive coverage makes it a major player in the international sports broadcasting market, offering a variety of live and on-demand sports content.
DAZN’s Major Competitors
ESPN+:
A direct competitor in sports streaming, offering a wide range of live sports, original content, and an extensive sports archive. Unlike DAZN, ESPN+ is only available in the United States at time of writing.
fuboTV
Known for its focus on live sports streaming, including soccer, NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, and more, along with general entertainment and news content. FuboTV is only available in the United States, Canada and Spain at the time of writing.
Sling TV
Offers a variety of live sports content through different channel packages, appealing to a broad audience with its sports and entertainment options. Sling is meant to be an alternative for cable, of which sports is a big part still.
We’ve focused on the American market when it comes to competitors. The global sports streaming market is extremely fragmented. Pretty much every country has a different direct competitor for DAZN, and they are the only ones with such a global sports focus. It’s only a matter of time before somebody else tries to unite forces to take them on globally.
In addition you have traditional television channels competing with DAZN’s digital offering, and sports leagues offering their own streaming services, such as the NFL.