Report claims package will be expanded to include some Sunday games
DAZN is reportedly targeting the Premier League broadcast rights package that is currently held by Prime Video.
The Daily Mail believes that the broadcaster sees the package as more attainable than those currently held by Sky Sports and TNT Sports. It is thought that Prime Video paid around £90 million for 60 live matches in the last cycle, which had been rolled over from before due to the pandemic.
With the number of games available to domestic broadcasters set to grow by around 60, the package is expected to be expanded to include some Sunday games played by teams in the Europa League as well as more midweek gameweeks. This could lead to a rise in price, which the Daily Mail thinks could go up to £300 million-per-year, that Prime Video may baulk at paying.
DAZN chief financial officer Darren Waterman spoke to Broadcast Sport earlier this year, and he explained its UK strategy: “My view is that we can enter any market and build the DAZN business. There are many markets, and the UK is certainly an important market because it’s where we’re based. It’s not existential for us to be in the UK but it would be great to find a good way to keep on growing the business.”
He added on big name rights such as the Premier League, “I think you need the big rights to get the flywheel going and to bring the customers. That’s really our investment, to grow the customer base and to build the brand. So I think they’re very important, the marquee domestic sports that most people care about in a country. Once you have that, then there are the opportunities to build on top and add more sports that have the opportunity to grow and find an audience.”
In addition, DAZN CEO Shay Segev told The Times earlier this year, “Football is obviously very big in the UK and EPL is an option on our menu. If the question is do we have any ambition to go to this market, the answer is of course yes. And it’s not only ambition it’s a high priority on my list.”
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