DAZN is a global over-the-top sports subscription video streaming service that entered talks with BT Sport for the rights to broadcast Premier League games. Talks have occurred over a deal worth £580million purchase of its rights.
The streaming giant recently acquired Matchroom Boxing from Sky in a deal worth US$1 billion to stage fights in the USA for the next eight years.
They are now looking to expand into territories like the UK and Ireland with the Premier League and Champions League right.
DAZN is closing on deal to buy BT Sport and its Premier League rights. Discovery, the US media giant, is also interested in acquiring BT or forming a joint venture and it's understood to remain in the running. BT need approval of the PL & UEFA before any sale.
📲 Via: The Times pic.twitter.com/F4oDE4Do2c— MCCCSHCas (@MCCCSHCas) February 1, 2022
BT sport outbid ESPN in 2013 for the rights and forced the US company to remove itself from Ireland and the UK
The media company show 52 games in the Premier league and also show the Champions League and Europa League football, as well as WWE programming and Champions Cup
The current deal runs until the end of the 2024-25 season, and the league must provide permission for sale of rights.
The sum paid by BT for it's current package for the the period of 2019 to 2022 was £385million (€462m) and was agreed again for 2022-2025 for similar amounts.
Discovery, the owners of Eurosport are also in the frame
DAZN are expected to blow them out of the water though due the sums they can put on the table,
In its most recent accounts (2019), DAZN reported a loss of $2.15billion (€1.91m) with much of that attributed to the acquisition of sports rights.
A potential sale is likely to be high on the agenda of Wednesday's BT Sport board meeting, with its third quarterly results following on Thursday.
BT will need approval of the PL & UEFA before any sale though
Another potential stumbling block, however, would be the reaction of television operators like Virgin Media and Sky who rely on the presence of channels like BT Sport etc to sell subscriptions.
CHORLEY, ENGLAND - JANUARY 22: BT commentator Jake Humprey . (Photo by Joe Prior/Visionhaus)