The launch of a new free tier in Germany in December 2023 marks a new stage in DAZN’s strategy to transform into a broader sports destination platform.
The final weeks of 2023 also saw DAZN agree extensions to vital distribution deals with its most valuable partners: Sky, TIM and Movistar.
DAZN is focused on reaching breakeven on a monthly basis this year and its recently released 2022 accounts show large but narrowing losses, and a small first step taken towards this goal.
The Premier League will earn 3.5% more per year from its domestic rights for 2025- 29 than today, enough to maintain the gap with rival competitions.
Sky will pay 7% more for as many as 70% more games and cement the prominence of its Premier League coverage, while the Saturday 3pm slot could host the Women’s Super League.
TNT Sports secures its premium profile and Amazon shifts its focus to the Champions League.
DAZN has morphed from a purely OTT to a hybrid sports service, becoming the number two football broadcaster in Europe.
A revamped distribution strategy focused on partnerships with pay-TV operators has extended reach and improved coverage, while ARPU has grown from firmer pricing and more sophisticated packaging.
DAZN is now a more financially sustainable company that should reach breakeven next year and move into profitability thereafter, with additional upside from betting and retailing third-party sports services.
CEO Bob Iger has announced that Disney is now in a "building" phase—indicating that the strategic turnaround is complete—however, upcoming breakeven of streaming products owes much to cuts on programming spend
With the rest of Hulu soon to be acquired, Disney looks as if it is pulling out of India—this will make the company's presence outside of the US even more peripheral
In the UK, Disney+'s advertising-supported tier is now live, however, there are forces at play that limit Disney's ability to execute its tiering strategy as effectively as its biggest streaming competitor
Unable to match Netflix, financially-pressed Hollywood studios are cutting content output and reassessing the DTC model
Price rises are being forced through, however for challengers this is asking a lot from subs, who don’t see an improvement in product or usage
The corporate landscape is fluid—loss-making DTC platforms and revenue-plunging linear channels are candidates for M&A
DAZN and Sky have renewed their current coverage of Serie A until 2029, at a slightly lower price and with the security of a five-year contract. The ‘league channel’ DTC option was rejected by clubs.
With bids expected soon in France and the UK, DAZN seems determined to become the dominant football broadcaster in Europe.
The Italian auction outcome confirms the real-term erosion of the value of football rights across Europe, but also a more mature approach from the league.
The Premier League has launched its first competitive rights auction since 2018, offering broadcasters a longer four-year cycle and 70 more live games.
Sky could reduce costs by cutting down on one weekly slot, but we expect it to fight for four packages, consistent with its history of prioritising the prominence of its Premier League coverage.
Competitive tension may be the strongest between TNT Sports and DAZN.
Ligue 1 wants to break with its recent history of failed tenders, declining revenues and soured relations with incumbent Canal+.
This year’s would-be bidders have no history of inflating rights costs. Thanks to its distribution deals with DAZN (likely to step in) and beIN, Canal+ may feel secure, while Amazon could let its coverage shrink to a selection of key matches.
The LFP is taking steps to offer a more enticing competition, in partnership with CVC: with fewer teams, a stronger brand and new investors.
Thanks to Parks (+11% YoY, $2.43 billion), Disney's Q3 operating income remained flat, balancing the decline from Media and Entertainment (-18% YoY, $1.13 billion) as DTC only lost $512 million and linear dropped by 23% ($1.89 billion). No new major growth initiatives were announced but Disney will look to stem DTC losses through Disney+ price rises and a password sharing crackdown.
Major segment resets are looming as Disney looks for new partners for ESPN and possibly buyers for its legacy TV business, ABC.
A difficult remainder of the year will be prolonged if the Hollywood talent unions strike into the autumn and beyond, while Bob Iger stays on as CEO through 2026.
Electronic Arts’ earnings for Q1 2024 delivered strong annual growth across its licensed franchises but also a worrying lag in mobile game revenue due to mobile sector challenges.
EA’s global dominance of sports-based games, and its 700m users, make it a strong candidate to be a ‘strategic partner’ with Disney for ESPN’s reboot as a direct-to-consumer service.
The launch of EA Sports FC24 next month finally sheds FIFA from EA’s largest franchise and promises a dynamic approach to managing football partnerships, but no word on increased margins.