DAZN Says ‘Watershed’ Bundesliga Deal Shows Viability Of Sports Streaming Venture

DAZN has trebled its current package of live Bundesliga matches in Germany, Austria and Switzerland in a move it believes demonstrates its long-term viability as a business to both rightsholders and customers.

Sky remains the senior broadcast partner with the lion’s share of matches but DAZN will show every Sunday and Friday match live. DAZN’s deal is worth 106 matches a season and the company claims that this is the largest ever package of domestic soccer rights awarded to a streaming service.

Meanwhile, Free-to-air (FTA) broadcaster Sat.1 has secured nine live matches a season while ZDF and ARD will continue their long-running highlights shows.

DAZN’s TV deal

DAZN has invested significantly in sports rights in nine countries, hoping to offer a more flexible, comprehensive service than traditional Pay-TV broadcasters. It usually targets markets ripe for disruption, where attractive rights are available, and where broadband and mobile connectivity is sufficient to support its platform.

In 2019, DAZN sold its Perform Content division, which includes Opta, to U.S. firm STATS to raise capital for its streaming ambitions.

However, the suspension of live sport due to the Covid-19 pandemic had cast doubt on the operation, with customers pausing subscriptions. DAZN reportedly suspended payments to partners while it was also suggested the company could offload Goal.com or sell an equity stake to raise funds. The launch of DAZN’s international service, which would focus on boxing, was also delayed.

The resumption of action has eased these concerns and DAZN believes its investment demonstrates its commitment to the market and the fact that the German Football League (DFL) was willing to enter into a longer, expanded partnership shows it is satisfied with DAZN’s viability as a business.

The deal lasts from the 2021-22 season through to the 2024-25 seasons.

It is also understood that DAZN has increased its share of UEFA Champions League matches in Germany from 84 to 121 – 88% of all matches.

“This is a watershed moment in the growth and maturity of sport streaming services and the logical next step as we continue to invest in our most mature market and the future of sport”, said Simon Denyer, DAZN Group CEO. “The partnership with the DFL is transformational and underline our long-term commitment to supporting our partners while bringing the best possible sport to fans in an affordable, accessible and flexible way.”

While DAZN will be happy to have secured a strong portfolio of rights, the DFL has been left counting the cost of the pandemic’s impact. Eurosport pulled out of its deal last month, while Amazon Prime
AMZN
also appears to have had no desire to increase its commitment.

The new TV deal is worth around €4.4 billion compared to the €4.64 billion generated by the current cycle.