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- DAZN Combat and DAZN Women’s Football will show live boxing and UWCL
- Broadcaster working to increase exposure and diversify revenues
Sports streaming service DAZN has launched two global free ad-supported television (FAST) channels focused on combat sports and women’s soccer.
The two sports form the foundation of DAZN’s global rights portfolio, which includes live bouts from Matchroom Boxing and Uefa Women’s Champions League (UWCL) matches. ‘DAZN Combat’ and ‘DAZN Women’s Football’ will offer a mix of live coverage, highlights, archive programming and original content.
The two channels will launch on various smart and connected television platforms, including LG, Samsung TV Plus and VIDAA, with more partners set to be announced in the coming months.
“DAZN is the home of women’s football, boxing and fight sports globally,” said Veronica Diquattro, DAZN’s chief executive of global markets.
“We are committed to increasing the global presence of these sports in markets across the world and the channels will help even more sports fans have greater access to top-tier sports rights across the globe.
“We already have an impressive rights portfolio of global rights properties in non-core markets and the global FAST channels highlight our commitment to provide frictionless, anytime, anywhere sports entertainment to passionate fans.”
Earlier this year, DAZN launched its first FAST channel in Germany and Austria. The women’s sport-focused ‘DAZN Rise’ shows a mixture of soccer from the UWCL, Germany’s Frauen Bundesliga and other top competitions, as well as handball, basketball, golf, field hockey and boxing.
SportsPro says…
DAZN’s move into the FAST space is driven by its desire to become a destination for all sports fans, not just paying customers, and to offer a shop window for its premium service at a time when it is looking to diversify its revenue streams. It believes betting, ecommerce and interactive features can reduce its reliance on subscriptions.
FAST channels are increasingly popular among households suffering from subscription fatigue – especially at a time of increased living costs – and will deliver a boost in advertising income for DAZN as it pursues a path to profitability.
The new channels will also increase reach, building on recent distribution partnerships with major broadcast platforms such as Amazon Prime Video, as well as the launch of the DAZN 1 linear channel on Sky in the UK.
