Reports from Cotizalia have suggested that DAZN is coming close to sealing a sublicensing deal with Telco Telefónica for five weekly LaLiga matches, starting from next season.
For the next five years, Movistar Plus, Telefónica’s pay-television network, would be able to stream all matches from Spain’s top-flight, alike its current deal (2019-20 to 2021-22), whilst the agreement will see Movistar pay €1.4 billion a year to host all La Liga football matches.
In December last year, the platform secured rights to five fixtures each matchweek, along with exclusive rights across three match weeks, whereas DAZN was awarded with exclusive rights to the other five fixtures.
That month, the telco stated to its investors: “Telefónica will take the necessary steps so that Movistar Plus customers continue to access 100% of LaLiga matches.”
Under the terms of a previous agreement signed between the two last year, Movistar’s sports package customers can access the DAZN 1, 2 and F1 channels and its app, at a price of €9.99 per month or €99.99 per year for non-subscribers.
Furthermore, it has this week been reported that DAZN Group has announced that it has agreed a new $4.3m financing investment with Access Industries, its principal shareholder, in a bid to maintain a ‘strong commercial momentum’.
The group revealed that its revenues and subscriber numbers continue to grow as the business expands its offering, which ‘paved the way’ for Access Industries to recapitalise the business in December 2021.
This left the Group without borrowings at the end of 2021, whilst Access has additionally subscribed for a further $250 million of new shares post-recapitalisation. The OTT sports streaming platform reportedly plans to invest in betting and NFTs, as well as other areas.
Also this month, DAZN had plans to acquire BT Sport’s Premier League and UEFA Champions League content. However, this news was shortly followed by BT Group revealing that it was in ‘exclusive discussions’ with Discovery Inc to create a new sports broadcasting joint-venture for UK viewers, leaving DAZn in the cold.
In its latest venture, the new cycle would bring in €4.95bn for La Liga which is an average of €990 million per year until the end of the deal, where Telefónica gives out around €980 million each season for its broadcasting rights.
