NEW YORK: DAZN, the Perform Group’s live and on-demand sports streaming service, will begin its operations in the USA on September 10.
It will be offering customers all combat sport fights for $9.99 per month with a free trial during the first month. All matches streamed on the service will be available both live and on-demand, on a wide range of connected devices, including smart TVs, PCs, smartphones, tablets and game consoles.
Earlier this year, Perform formed a joint venture with leading boxing promoter Matchroom Boxing and a billion-dollar, multi-year global distribution agreement with Bellator MMA, a leading global combat sports franchise owned by Viacom.
The first-ever fight night to be streamed by DAZN in the USA will feature heavyweight boxing world champion Anthony Joshua and Alexander “The Russian Warrior” Povetkin as the two battle for the WBA, IBF and WBO titles on September 22 at the Wembley Stadium in London.
“We launched DAZN to disrupt the status quo and change the way the world sees sports,” James Rushton, CEO of DAZN said on the announcement of the USA launch.
“When you get DAZN, you’ll get all the fights; we won’t stash our best matchups for PPV, linear TV or a higher-tier package. And you’re going to get the entire card live, no matter the time zone and without constraints for one affordable price.”
As the first global pure sports OTT platform, DAZN is expected to show more than one fight night a week on average, having also tied up with the World Boxing Super Series. Fans can also view behind-the-scenes features leading up to big events and real-time news stories about upcoming matchups besides live streaming.
“DAZN is Perform Group’s most ambitious undertaking to date and we have big plans as a global streaming leader,” said John Skipper, Perform Group executive chairman.
“In the last two years we’ve expanded into seven countries across three continents attracting millions of subscribers and creating long-term global partnerships with the best in the industry to bring our fans what they want at an affordable price.”
DAZN is already available as a multisport service in markets including Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Japan, Canada and most recently Italy. The platform, which first launched in Europe and Asia two years ago, has developed long-term relationships with rights holders around the world, including the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, EPL and UEFA among others. The sports streaming service has ambitious plans to expand the portfolio as more rights become available.
