DAZN Reports 98% Streaming Spike In 2019; Andy Ruiz-Anthony Joshua Rematch Was Top Draw

DAZN expands into 200 territories with boxing — DAZN's next move: rolls boxing into 200 countries, territories. DAZN

Rising global sports outlet DAZN reported a 98% rise in total streaming hours in 2019, to 507 million from 256 million.

The rematch in December between heavyweight fighters Anthony Joshua and Andy Ruiz Jr. was the most-viewed event of the year, though DAZN did not break out viewership stats for any individual events. The numbers shared Tuesday reflect both live and on-demand viewing, but the vast majority of consumption on DAZN is live, reflecting the nature of sports. Consistent with the approach of most subscription streaming services, which don’t rely on traditional advertising revenue driven by ratings, DAZN generally releases only select bits of data about viewing on its platform.

Based in the UK and backed by billionaire Len Blavatnik, DAZN operates in nine countries, including Japan, Germany, Brazil, the U.S. and Canada. John Skipper, who spent 20 years at ESPN, six of them as its president, has been overseeing DAZN’s expansion as its executive chairman.

The company said 62% of total viewership — 314.6 million hours — was of soccer and soccer matches were six of the 10 most-streamed events of the year. Baseball was the No. 2 most popular overall sport, with 38.1 million streaming hours, followed by motorsports, American football (NFL games are shown in non-U.S. territories including Canada and Japan), and boxing.

While NFL rights in the U.S. have long been controlled by the major broadcast networks and ESPN, Skipper has indicated his interest in trying to get a foothold in that lucrative sector, perhaps by bidding on the NFL Sunday Ticket. AT&T-owned DirecTV, which has carried the package for 25 years, will keep exclusive rights through the end of next season but the long-term fate of Sunday Ticket remains uncertain.

In terms of how audiences connected with DAZN, the company said mobile represented 26% of streams, with set-top boxes and streaming sticks accounting for 23%, smart TVs 21%, desktop computers 17% and gaming consoles 13%.