In a significant move into football, DAZN is preparing to bid for global broadcasting rights for Champions League games from 2027. This comes after Saudi Arabia's Surj Sports Investment acquired a 10% stake in DAZN earlier this year.
DAZN's interest in the Champions League follows its successful partnership with FIFA, where it secured exclusive global rights for the Club World Cup. The streaming platform reportedly paid $1bn (£746.94m) to FIFA and claimed an audience of 2.7 billion and social media engagement of 10 billion using total views as a metric.
This success has encouraged DAZN to pursue global rights for the UEFA’s Champions League, which has made such a package available for the first time as part of its tender process launched this month.
Potential value of global rights
The joint venture that unites European Football Clubs (formerly known as European Club Association) with UEFA, UC3, values single game global rights at about £440m annually - approximately 10% of its valuation for all Champions League matches. This would make four-year rights worth around £1.76bn.
The tender process is expected to attract offers from streaming giants like Netflix, Amazon and Disney+. However, despite walking away from its TV rights deal in France and seeking renegotiation in Belgium earlier this year, DAZN also intends to bid.
DAZN stands out among competitors due to its proven technology and worldwide reach necessary for successful global streaming. Its live coverage of the Club World Cup was executed without issues despite modest viewing figures in England. However, there were notable successes elsewhere - particularly Brazil where FIFA reported that 62% of the population watched the tournament on DAZN's platform. Similarly impressive viewership numbers were recorded in Italy and Spain, where DAZN is well established due to its live rights for Serie A and La Liga matches.
Balancing investments and profitability
While DAZN's interest in the Champions League signals a potential major investment, it seems to be reducing its investments elsewhere. The company has been directed by its owners, Sir Len Blavatnik’s Access Industries and Surj Sports Investment, to become profitable.
In line with this directive, DAZN terminated its contract for Ligue 1 after one season due to disappointing subscriber numbers. This move will lead to savings of about €1.5bn (£1.12bn) over the next four years. DAZN also informed the Jupiler Pro League in Belgium that it intended to renegotiate its five-year $440m live rights deal after failing to negotiate a carriage deal with a traditional broadcaster. As a result, Belgian league games are now only available via the DAZN app.
Despite these cost-cutting measures, DAZN remains committed towards becoming "the Spotify of sport". The company's 2024 accounts showed reduced losses from $1.4bn to $936m with CEO Shay Segev projecting profitability by 2026. As it prepares for another significant football venture involving Saudi Arabia through bidding for Champions League global broadcasting rights from 2027 onwards, all eyes will be on how this move impacts both their financial performance and standing within the sports streaming industry.
