'Netflix of Sport' DAZN eyeing Premier League rights in UK after Eddie Hearn boxing deal with billionaire backing from Len Blavatnik

The OTT streaming platform - which is owned by billionaire Len Blavatnik and has been branded the 'Netflix of Sport' - expanded to over 200 countries/territories last year.

At the start of 2020, DAZN operated in nine countries and had put a lot of focus on their US launch two years prior.

Big money was spent on securing boxing rights in America with promoter Eddie Hearn given a $1billion budget to play with over an eight-year contract and Canelo Alvarez initially secured on a $365million eleven-fight deal.

However, questions were asked in the industry regarding whether this substantial investment was returning worthy subscription numbers and, as for all live sport businesses last year, the pandemic caused problems.

Now, the company has a new chairman in Kevin Mayer and it appears there could be a switch in emphasis towards locations such as the UK.

As well as their big-money US deal with Hearn, it's now reported that DAZN have agreed a seismic deal to secure his stable in the UK.

The Matchroom boss held an exclusive UK and Ireland deal with Sky Sports since 2012, extending it by six years in 2015 and showcasing 120 fights a year.

However, according to The Athletic he's now inked a nine-figure, five-year deal with DAZN.

This will come into effect from July 1 and is seemingly just the start of DAZN's ambitions in the UK.

Mayer explained to CNBC: "It's interesting. Remember, I launched ESPN+ in the US, and I ran that.

"That was based on getting the UFC rights, plus baseball rights, plus a ton of college sports and other sports. It was like 12,000 events or something on ESPN+.

"Sports, like every other visual entertainment content type, is going to be an over-the-top service. That's just where everything is headed.

"Traditional pay-TV is declining, both here and in Europe. In most markets in Europe, it never really had the foothold that it had here.

"DAZN is mostly focused in Europe and Asia. They have a big business in Japan and then key markets in Europe.

"It has a global footprint through boxing and a few other sports. That's what you see in the US and other countries.

"So I think it's a really interesting platform. It reminds me of what we did at ESPN+. And I do think it's the future of sports."

Regarding their planned route to success, Mayer continued: "To have staying power, you need to deliver the sports that matter to consumers no matter where they are. And those are the local sports.

"So in the UK, the English Premier League and maybe some cricket and maybe some rugby.

"In Germany, it's Bundesliga, which is their equivalent of the EPL. In Japan, it's baseball.

"So you have to get those local rights in those countries. And that's how you can make a real service take hold."

The auction of UK broadcast rights for the 2022-25 Premier League seasons will begin later this year.

It was predicted to be a competition between the current holders - Sky, BT and Amazon - however DAZN clearly intend to change this.

Asked if he believes securing these 'local rights' is an achievable goal, Mayer replied: "Yeah, I think we are positioned to do it. We have the capital to do it, and Len Blavatnik is committed to it. And it's going to work.

"It's a flywheel that happens. Once it starts spinning, you can create momentum.

"You get the rights, you get the subscribers, you put yourself in the position that you should reasonably be the person that can pay more than the second highest bidder the next time around.

"What ESPN did in wholesale, that's what we're going to do in retail. ESPN did this to the pay-TV guys. ESPN bought rights, they charged more, they bought more rights.

"You can recreate that with local rights in local markets. And I think that's what we're going to do."

And finally, regarding DAZN's future in America, Mayer concluded: "It's conceivable, in the future, theoretically, that DAZN could make inroads here.

"I just think that for the time being and for the medium term, we really need to focus on Europe and Asia.

"That's where the fertile territory is, mostly."