DAZN, which aims to be the Netflix of sport, may be seeking to gain a significant stake in the Foxtel business in Australia, after News Corp put its majority share of the company up for sale. Shay Segev, the chief executive of DAZN, is reported to have been in Australia, where he met both Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch. He is also reported to have met with Telstra. Meanwhile, Foxtel chief executive Patrick Delany has apparently been meeting Sky in London. If the deal proceeds, it could be a game changer in Australia.
DAZN, backed by the British-Ukrainian multi-billionaire Len Blavatnik, is based in London. A deal with News Corp could see it acquiring sports rights and an existing subscriber base in Australia to extend its global distribution.
DAZN may be particularly interested in Kayo Sports, the sports streaming service launched by Foxtel to some success in 2018. It is owned by Hubbl, formerly known as Streamotion, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Foxtel Group.
Foxtel is 65% owned by News Corp Australia, with the remainder owned by Telstra. News Corp effectively put its stake in Foxtel, which has debt of around $1.2 billion, up for sale in August.
DAZN has acquired international rights to a range of sports, including the NFL, NBA, and several football leagues, including the English Premier League and the UEFA Champions League.
In addition to its direct-to-consumer app, DAZN has distribution agreements with leading pay television and telco providers in many markets. For instance, the app is now available on Sky platform sin the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland.
DAZN is reported to have 20 million subscribers, with a significant presence in Europe, and operates worldwide. The company reports revenues of $3.2 billion in 2023 and projects revenues of $3.5 billion in 2024, although in previous years it has reported annual operating losses of over a billion dollars.
Foxtel has 4.69 million paid subscribers in Australia. Of these, 1.2 million are residential subscribers for its television services. Kayo Sports has 1.55 million subscribers, and the entertainment service BINGE has 1.53 million.
Telstra, which is a minority shareholder in Foxtel, recently acquired majority control of Fetch TV to replace its own Telstra TV offering. Fetch TV was planning to include the DAZN app on its platform.
One possibility is that rival telco Optus could merge its Sports app in some way with DAZN, putting further pressure on Telstra.
Australian anti-siphoning laws prevent pay television providers from acquiring exclusive rights to specific sporting events such as cricket, golf, tennis and the football codes, together with the Olympic and Commonwealth Games, before free-to-air broadcasters have had the opportunity to bid for them. In July, the Australian government extended the scope to include online video online platforms.
DAZN recently announced that it would be the exclusive global provider of coverage of the new FIFA Club World Cup 2025, in which 32 clubs compete in 12 venues across the United States to become FIFA Club World Champions. Under a $1 billion deal with FIFA, DAZN will offer all matches online for free, with possible sublicensing to local free-to-air broadcasters.