DAZN has come into the market knowing just what fans needed: an easy way to stream their favourite sports from wherever they are. The OTT service now offers several top leagues concerning football – Champions League and Premier League included – and also makes sure the supporters can watch NFL or MLB action. Some fans could have been upset, when they heard about the service’s advertising plans. But since DAZN offers good value and is more convenient than other options, it shouldn’t deter many viewers. Especially not now that one can watch several streams at once via multi screen.
DAZN tells people about advertising partners
Well, DAZN just informed people in Germany about their advertsing partners, meaning there will be ads integrated into the streaming experience. Yet, there was no backlash. People seem to be happy to consume a bit of advertising, as long as it’s suitable, if that means the service isn’t up for a price hike.
DAZN even confirmed that no fan would miss a second of live sports during streaming. What the update means, though, is that quite a few brands could reach even more possible customers, now they might cooperate with DAZN. Some viewers would rather pay more in order to get away from ads they have to endure on Social Media and TV. But probably the majority will vote against a pricier service, even if that goes hand in hand with more adverts.
Anyway, DAZN, which belongs to the Perform Group, is on its way to the top. The numbers speak for itself. Only starting in 2016, the service has millions of subscribers already. It launches in Brazil and Spain this year to make it available in nine markets now. The most important market expansion might have been that to the USA in 2018. Astonishingly, the OTT service is aiming to be available in 20 markets by 2020. Important for the growth of DAZN were announcements made concerning the opportunity for US fans to watch MLB games live from 2019 on, or the deal with Golden Boy Promotions, a boxing promoter, which will see eleven fights from Saul “Canelo” Alvarez being streamed on the platform.
DAZN’s growth is aided by development structures
The will to grow is obvious everywhere. For example, a new office in Leeds has just been moved into. It shall help the service grow in the UK and worldwide, surely.
Apart from that, Ben King was appointed SVP Global Distribution and Business Development in January. He joined from tech giants Apple, and was warmly welcomed:
His global experience and insight-driven approach will enable DAZN to grow faster and stronger as we extend our business deeper into both existing and new markets. We are delighted to get him onboard.
King himself was sure to make DAZN an even more interesting alternative in our evolving digitalised world:
Live sport may be the last holdout of the digital media revolution, but I have no doubt about the benefits of bringing fans closer to their favourite teams and sport stars through a more user-friendly, convenient and affordable service. The potential is staggering, and I could not be more excited about joining DAZN to help realise it.
A great example for the exploitation of such potential is the new multi screen available to first users.
A multi screen makes for individual viewing close to today’s habits
DAZN is often referred to as the Netflix of sports. That’s mainly due to their rapid growth in an on demand digital media environment – but also closely connected to their rather cheap offering. Chief Product Officer Ben Lavender even mentioned Netflix himself:
Netflix has set the bar in that people expect to consume content online. We’ve got great rights, we’ve got to make sure the content is easy to consume.
He as well states that DAZN wants to be available on every device possible; they’re on 95 per cent now. You can watch it on your smartphone, tablet, PC or PlayStation 4 and on an Apple TV, too. Now, on that Apple TV, users can even experience a multi screen viewing. Multi view is only available to Apple TV users right now, but should be coming to other devices soon. User Matthias Gindorf liked it a lot.
Fans can watch several games at a time. Furthermore, they can decide which games to see, not like it was a scheduled conference. And they could even tune in to different sports, such as baseball, football or boxing – simultaneously. Unfortunately, there hasn’t been an update from DAZN in terms of when the feature will come to other devices. It shouldn’t take too long, though, if it turns out to be a hit among users. Which it shoul, because it certainly has the right makings, for it strikes the viewers’ interest in absorbing as much content as possible in a digital space. That very aspect correlates with the development of second and third screen (or even tab) usage these days.
What else is in the pipeline?
Therefore, DAZN is cementing its place as the modern users’ go-to platform for sports streaming. As they open up for advertising, brands should consider a suitable and lasting partnership with the service. For it could be a more than valuable investment. That is to say, if DAZN is sports’ Netflix, there’s much more to come from it. We can assume it is going to become a much more global brand. And that’s inevitably good news for any advertiser, league or association banking on the streaming opportunities provided by the service.
Consequently, there will be new features and new deals. And they should all make for a better viewing and generate more fans. So a transition from even more fans, mostly younger ones, to DAZN looks more than just an assumption. We’ll see, but multi screen options and adverts are a good start to merge sports coverage and technology with on demand requirements and global brands’ interests. Most importantly these steps establish the service as possibly the future main source for live streamed football.