DAZN this morning "acquired exclusive broadcast rights" to the EPL in Canada, taking the rights "away from Sportsnet and TSN for at least the next three seasons," according to Sean Fitz-Gerald of THE ATHLETIC. The deal "kicks in this August, and subscribers will have access to all 380 games -- as well as highlights, weekly feature programs and archival footage." Sportsnet "would usually expect to attract" between 100,000-150,000 viewers for a Saturday EPL morning broadcast. DAZN hopes to "convert about a third of those into subscribers." Sportsnet and TSN have been "providing hours of programming for years." However, DAZN North America Exec VP Joe Markowski said there is "plenty of market research to suggest Canadian fans would be prepared to subscribe for EPL broadcasts." The OTT service "may have to be creative in its traditional television advertising, because it appears neither TSN nor Sportsnet has been eager to run commercials for its newest competitor." Markowski "would not say whether DAZN has been refused ad space on Canada’s established sports networks." As for how much the EPL rights cost, one source said that DAZN will pay between $10-15M a year for the rights "over the next three seasons" (THEATHLETIC.com, 4/3). The CP's Neil Davidson notes DAZN "already shows the Champions and Europa League, French, Italian, Japanese, Spanish and Turkish league soccer as well as England’s Carabao Cup in Canada." It also "shows MLS content, having taken over in Canada what had been the MLS Live streaming service" (CP, 4/3).
TIMING IS EVERYTHING: BLOOMBERG NEWS' Soshnick, Hellier & Ahmed yesterday ahead of the EPL news cited a source as saying that Len Blavatnik's DAZN Group is "close to a deal to sell its Perform content business to Vista Equity Partners." The business reportedly "will be sold to help DAZN fund acquisitions" of more live sports rights. It "wasn't immediately clear how much Vista was paying." The source said that "no final decision has been made and the sale may still not materialize" (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 4/2).
