Streaming service DAZN will screen Serie A matches in Italy next season, "a landmark deal in the push by digital groups to challenge traditional broadcasters in the global battle over sports rights," according to Murad Ahmed of the FINANCIAL TIMES. DAZN, part of Perform Group, a U.K.-based sports media company owned by Len Blavatnik's Access Industries, won the domestic screening rights to 114 top-tier Italian football matches per season from '18-21. While the majority of Serie A games will continue to be shown in the country on Sky Italia, the deal means DAZN "will be able to show three matches a week -- far more than other digital services have acquired for any of Europe's biggest football leagues." A source said that Perform would pay about €600M ($696.1M) in total for the three-year deal. It is "unclear how much Sky Italia has paid or the sum Serie A has made in total." DAZN CEO James Rushton said, "To secure a premium set of soccer rights in any European market is a significant moment." DAZN "will use the Serie A deal to launch its subscription streaming service in Italy" (FT, 6/13). REUTERS' Navach & Za reported Sky and Perform outbid Mediaset, Italy's biggest commercial broadcaster, which "strained its finances to buy rights in the previous three-year tender." Serie A Chair Gaetano Micciche said, "The sale of TV rights has finally reached a conclusion." European pay-TV firm Sky said that it secured exclusive rights to broadcast 266 matches live in Italy every season, "or seven out of 10 Serie A games being played on a given day." Micciche said that the league is entitled to a further €100M ($116M) each season "based on results achieved by Sky and Perform in terms of subscriptions and revenue." The league kicked off a new bidding round for '18-21 rights this month "after it cancelled a contract awarding them to Spanish multimedia group Mediapro" (REUTERS, 6/13). BLOOMBERG's Lepido & Mayes reported it is Perform's "first foray" into top-flight football in Italy. DAZN, which is "seeking to be the Netflix Inc. of sport," is already present in Germany, Japan and Canada. Rushton said that the company "expects to make further announcements about rights deals in the coming weeks." He added in a statement, "The sport industry is ripe for disruption. Since launching almost two years ago, we have disrupted the industry in multiple markets as we change the way the world sees sport" (BLOOMBERG, 6/13).
CRICKET NIGHT IN CANADA: SPORTING NEWS CANADA reported "elite" int'l cricket tournaments will be added to DAZN Canada and its "growing platform" starting this month. A two-year agreement with the Pakistan Cricket Board, West Indies Cricket Board and Sri Lanka Cricket and a four-year agreement with the England & Wales Cricket Board give DAZN members access to tournaments hosted by these cricket boards live and on demand. DAZN Canada's two-year agreement with the PCB, WICB and SLC entails broadcasting all three boards' Twenty20, test cricket and ODI matches. The four-year agreement with the ECB will bring 19 int'l matches, all England home matches, county T20 competitions, women's T20 league matches "and other ECB hosted matches and tournaments" (SPORTING NEWS CANADA, 6/13).
