NEW YORK: Perform Group’s rapidly expanding sports streaming service DAZN is extremely keen to sustain its success in international markets in the long run courtesy producing original, exclusive content based on sport and lifestyle such as talk shows, podcasts and documentaries, Digiday reports.
For instance, DAZN’s USA launch in September will not only see the brand showcasing live martial arts and boxing fights, but also backing that up with a special daily news show which will cover behind-the-scenes stories of boxers and fighters in a light-hearted manner.
“In a market like the U.S. where we’re very strong in combat sports rights but don’t have much else, we need original content,” James Rushton, CEO of DAZN, told Digiday.
“Part of our challenge is, we have to turn these boxers back into superstars.”
When it comes to boxing in the USA, the brand is targeting 3 million fans initially for the move to be claimed as a success.
Reportedly, DAZN’s plans feature entering 20 markets by 2020 although that could be an extremely tough task due to many sports digital rights having lengthy time periods for it to be available for them to grab immediately.
At present, they have succeeded in being present in 5 of those with top events such as Major League Baseball (Japan), football (Germany) and NFL (Canada). The idea seems to be that capturing a market’s most popular sport will give them a foothold to gain some time, experience and a recognised brand name until they can bag more rights once they become available.
DAZN is aiming at creating original content but not at exorbitant prices for consumers. It is imperative for the brand to be different from the likes of ESPN, Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Youtube who have an impressive line-up of content with big-ticket partnerships. Facebook is said to have paid superstar footballer Cristiano Ronaldo $10 million for a reality series, while Amazon has begun being an advertising marketplaces for the live sports events as it has the Premier League and the US Open amongst top sporting events.
However, DAZN recently created a documentary of its own which featured Germany’s World Cup winning footballer and Borussia Dortmund star Mario Gotze.
“It’s about creating content that adds value but at the same time doesn’t encumber the business with additional costs that have to be passed on to consumers,” Rushton added.
DAZN’s challenge lies in countering the evolution of technology platforms that have made it difficult to brands to target the same audiences successfully as athletes are closer to fans than ever.
“In a world where your favorite football player is now only ever an Instagram story away, increasingly there is a tension between a football club’s brand aspirations and the commercial opportunities that their players may pursue independently,” Mark Eaves, founding partner at content agency Gravity Road told Digiday.
