Matchroom Boxing USA to partner up with DAZN
Eddie Hearn has said that he would have a huge announcement regarding Matchroom Boxing USA that would change the landscape of boxing in America. He went on to say it dealt with a streaming service, which led folks to speculate is Netflix or Amazon the services he was referring too? Well, today we learned in fact a streaming partnership was indeed in place but not with any of the major players in the industry.
Matchroom Boxing USA has announced a partnership with DAZN, a streaming service company looking to expand into the U.S. market, they already have a deal in place to stream Matchroom events in Canada and Germany. DAZN currently runs in Canada, Japan, Austria, and Germany. They are looking to cut into the American market and try to become the Netflix of sports.
DAZN is backed by Len Blavatnik who is worth over 20 billion dollars and is apparently in this for the long haul. It’s not exactly an announcement that would change the landscape of the sport here in America. Nonetheless, it’s a start they recently hired former ESPN President John Skipper. However, whether or not it can be successful here will depend on different variables. One of those variables will obviously be pricing, how much is this gonna cost the consumer? What other content will it carry besides Matchroom Boxing?
There’s also what fighters can Hearn get to sign to the Matchroom Boxing USA banner? And of course there’s the sport giant ESPN who has launch and excellent streaming service for just five dollars a month. And in June will be streaming the championship bout between Terence “Bud” Crawford and Jeff Horn. They also streamed the return Amir Khan and have a deep archive of old fights from Ali vs Frazier to Marciano vs Charles l, plus many more.
It wasn’t the huge announcement that was advertised to be but it’s a start. With deep pockets and having the backing of someone with big pockets, willing to use all the resources available it could work. Only time will tell, it’s a gamble but also an opportunity worth taking.
By: Wilson Urena
