DAZN bets on boxing, MMA as $10/month sports streamer hits U.S. in September

DAZN, a sports streaming service that recently hired former ESPN President John Skipper, revealed details about its upcoming expansion into the U.S. in September.

The service is going live on Sept. 10, and one of its first big live events will be a world heavyweight title fight between Anthony Joshua and Alexander "The Russian Warrior” Povetkin on Sept. 22 from Wembley Stadium in London. Bellator’s Welterweight Grand Prix tournament will also appear on DAZN beginning Sept. 29 with additional fights in the tournament playing out over the next year exclusively on DAZN. The service will also feature boxing matches from Matchroom Boxing.

The service, which will sell subscriptions for $10 per month, is betting U.S. consumers will pay for access to fights that are often features in pay-per-view events.

“We launched DAZN to disrupt the status quo and change the way the world sees sports,” said DAZN CEO James Rushton in a statement. “When you get DAZN, you’ll get all the fights; we won’t stash our best matchups for PPV, linear TV or a higher-tier package. And you’re going to get the entire card live, no matter the time zone and without constraints for one affordable price.”

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In addition to fights, DAZN will populate its service with new shows, behind-the-scenes features leading up to big events and real-time news stories about the upcoming matchups.

“DAZN is Perform Group’s most ambitious undertaking to date and we have big plans as a global streaming leader,” said Skipper in a statement. “In the last two years we’ve expanded into seven countries across three continents attracting millions of subscribers and creating long-term global partnerships with the best in the industry to bring our fans what they want at an affordable price.”

DAZN first launched in Europe and Asia two years ago and has put together international rights deals with NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, EPL and UEFA. The company said it has “ambitious plans to expand the portfolio as more rights become available” in the U.S. The service has launched in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Japan, Canada and most recently Italy.

In the U.S., DAZN will be competing with several other subscription sports streaming services. ESPN+, which launched earlier this year, offers live sports from several big U.S. sports leagues and is more competitively priced at $4.99. Turner is also bringing its Bleacher Report Live streaming service out of beta later this summer.

DAZN will come with a one-month free trial. All matches streamed on the service will be available both live and on demand, on devices including smart TVs, PCs, smartphones, tablets and game consoles.