BT Sport deal became ‘uneconomical’ for DAZN

DAZN Group chairman Kevin Mayer has claimed that a deal to acquire BT Sport became ‘uneconomical’ for the streaming platform. 

DAZN had been considered the favourite to buy BT Sport but a 50/50 joint venture between the latter and Discovery was announced this morning (3 February). The JV is slated to launch later in 2022, and would hold rights including Premier League, Champions League, Olympics, cycling grand tour, tennis grand slams, and more.

The news will be a blow to DAZN, which launched in the UK in December 2020 and has largely focused on boxing content to date. Mayer signalled that the company is still looking to expand in the UK, despite this setback.

He said: “We remain fully committed to growing our business and investing in the UK, as you will see in the near future.

“On this occasion, however, the deal for BT Sport became uneconomical for DAZN. However, we respect that BT chose a different strategic path and wish BT, BT Sport and Discovery all the best for the future.”

DAZN recently made leadership changes and outlined growth and product strategy plans that include moving into recreational gambling, gaming, e-commerce, NFTs and tech advances in the viewing experience. Shay Segev became sole CEO as part of this move, and Darren Waterman became Group CFO.