DAZN has secured an extension to its media rights deals with LaLiga in Portugal and Italy whilst also increasing its subscription fee for British users.
The OTT sports streaming platform will cover LaLiga in the two European markets until 2029. The full-run time of the partnership will bring DAZN’s cooperation with LaLIga in the two countries to 11 years, having first begun in 2018.
DAZN will deliver 380 Spanish top-flight and second-tier matches per season live and on-demand. Coverage will include promotion playoffs alongside high-lights, news and analysis.
Javier Tebas, President of LaLiga, said: “At LaLiga we always look for best-in-class partners to deliver Spanish football to fans everywhere. And we are delighted to continue working with DAZN in countries with the historic football tradition that Italy and Portugal have.”
The agreement further solidifies DAZN’s status as one of LaLiga’s biggest sports broadcasting partners, and an emerging force in European sports media in general.
DAZN is already the domestic rights holder to LaLiga, having secured this agreement with the league back in 2021. Under the latest renewal, it will also remain rightsholder to LaLiga EA Sports in Italy and Portugal until 2029.
Jorge Pavão de Sousa, Managing Director of DAZN Portugal, added: “We’ve been working with LALIGA since 2018 and we’re proud to renew our agreement with one of the competitions most admired by the Portuguese, for five more years.
“DAZN will continue to offer the best of European Football and this renewal means that next season sports fans will be able to watch LaLiga, Liga F, Premier League, Bundesliga and all of UEFA’s competitions on a single broadcaster – DAZN”.
In addition to Spain, DAZN has built itself up as a dominant sports outlet in Italy. Similar to Spain, DAZN has cemented itself as a domestic player by securing the rights to the hugely popular domestic league, Serie A. The firm beat former rights holder Sky Italia to these rights back in 2021.
On the LaLiga extension, Stefano Azzi, CEO of DAZN Italia, remarked: “We are proud that DAZN remains the exclusive owner of LaLiga rights in Italy for another three years.
“The long-standing collaboration that we have started with the highest Spanish Football League continues and confirms, consolidating it, our role as a reference partner. It is an honour to have been chosen again for the broadcast in Italy.
“We are sure that together we will continue to offer the best sports product to all fans, bringing the show of the great Spanish football in an increasingly interactive and exciting phase.”
Internationally DAZN has been building itself as OTT streaming partner to various sports, most notably football via deals such as those mentioned above with LaLiga and Serie A, but also with France’s Ligue 1 and the Premier League, the latter in markets such as Canada, among others.
Back in its founding market of the UK, however, the company is much more widely known for its coverage of professional boxing, with the rights to the country’s most popular football tournaments largely held by Sky.
Boxing is a big business for DAZN, however. With public interest in the sport at a new height with a plethora of world title fights and grudge matches coming up this year, the company has opted to increase its UK subscription fee from £10.99 to £14.99 a month.
An email sent to DAZN customers read: “We are bringing you more fights than ever before. We hope you’re enjoying our new packed schedule of over 150 fights a year, including Fury vs. Usyk (May 18)* and the British blockbuster rematch – Taylor vs. Catterall (May 25).
“To continue to deliver the best year-round schedule, we’re updating our subscription pricing from 16 May 2024 onwards. If you do nothing, the new price of your 12-Month Contract will be £14.99/month and will take effect at the end of your current 12-month billing period. View, edit, or manage your DAZN subscription at any time within My Account.”
DAZN’s growth as a prominent name, and increasingly a household one, has been rapid, and although this has not come without some challenges for the company – notably heavy costs – its growth trajectory is continuing, and it has also embarked on endeavours in other elements of the sports ecosystem, such as betting.
