DAZN’s first PPV will be GGG vs. Murata in December - GBP leaving DAZN!!!

[Enlightened-One]

"DAZN reach deal to buy out BT Sport, first PPV in the works, Golden Boy leaving"

DAZN UK will add the Champions League, Premier League and WWE to their schedule from next summer...

A source has told Planet Sport that a deal has been agreed for DAZN to buy out BT Sport from next summer.

DAZN - dubbed the sporting equivalent of Netflix - are looking to make major moves in the UK to strengthen their position in the market.

Alongside women's Champions League rights, DAZN UK have focused on the boxing market, staging two Canelo Alvarez fights - against British duo Callum Smith and Billy Joe Saunders - as well as Ryan Garcia's win over Luke Campbell, Fight Camp and Josh Warrington's rematch with Mauricio Lara.

After Fight Camp, it was announced that the subscription fee of £1.99 would rise to £7.99 leading to complaints from fans due to the empty schedule. However, the news of gaining BT Sport rights will be welcomed.

According to our source, from next summer, DAZN will broadcast Premier League, Serie A and Champions League games as well as WWE, boxing and the UFC - although the rights for the latter ends in November.

The deal is unspecified but it is believed to be a multi-billion dollar deal. There could be an announcement about the deal within the next four weeks.

After this year, DAZN will reportedly no longer be associated with Golden Boy. Their deal expires at the end of the year and it is unlikely to get renewed. Triller could become the new home for Oscar De La Hoya's promotional company.

While Canelo could return to the platform after his upcoming unification showdown against Caleb Plant. depending on who he wants to face next, there is much to be desired about the future of DAZN USA.

After spending the last couple of years with the slogan of 'PPV is dead', DAZN will stage their first pay-per-view event in December. It is yet to be confirmed but Gennadiy Golovkin's showdown against Ryota Murata could be the fight they go with first.

GGG - the current IBF middleweight titlist - will go to Tokyo and take on Murata in a bid to win his WBA strap and unify at 160lbs on December 28.

Thoughts?

[bobcatbox]

Great move by DAZN to buy up the football (soccer) rights in the UK.

Deplorable of them to sell us GGG vs Murata as a PPV. First off they’ve basically ripped us off in doing so by telling us we’ll get their content without PPV. Second off that fight as a PPV is laughable. As a fan I’ll probably buy it anyway, and so goes the abusive relationship of boxing fans and boxing media. That being said every man has his limits…

GBP and Triller is a good fit. Now we can watch King Ry throw down right before one of the Paul Bros.

Is now a good time to throw it out there that I miss HBO?

[gregregegg]

Thought dazn would open ppv with an absolute banger then slowly water them down. I was thinking Aj vs usyk 2 or whyte vs fury, or canelo vs beterbedev, or Ryan Garcia vs tank ect.

And even with them I was expecting a stacked undercard,

GGG vs mutate was borderline not ppv on the old sky model…. Game changed.

[Enlightened-One]

The Golovkin-Murata bout has been in the pipeline since late April, but the fight couldn’t be officially announced until DAZN sanctioned the bout.

The media reported that DAZN were reluctant to sign-off the bout, probably for commercial reasons (i.e. GGG is benefitting from a massive six-fight deal, the inactive Murata isn’t a big enough name to attract subscribers & Gennadiy has already received a couple of big paydays from DAZN for facing subpar mismatch calibre opposition).

So it doesn’t surprise me seeing the rumour mill speculating about DAZN potentially allowing the Golovkin-Murata bout to proceed as a PPV event, because for them, it kills two birds with one stone.

It not only helps wind down DAZN’s burdensome ball & chain deal with GGG (offloading the cost of their huge financial commitment onto their consumers), but it also allows Gennadiy Golovkin, Eddie Hearn and Akihiko Honda to finally get their own way.

In regard to Golden Boy Promotions potentially leaving DAZN for Triller, this rumour has been around since March (around the time when Oscar De La Hoya was looking to compete on Triller, rather than DAZN), but has significantly gathered pace from August, to the point it’s now almost considered as being a foregone conclusion.

Triller don’t have the best of reputations, so you might see the handful of decent names currently aligned with GBP jumping ship during 2022 if it does come to fruition.

One of the biggest implications of DAZN’s recent commercial activity, which no one is talking about, is the potential implications to FṛḁՌk Wḁṛṛȅռȿ stable of fighters when their acquisition of BT Sports is finally given the green light.

I’m led to believe that DAZN have already agreed the terms to acquire BT Sports, but the delay is primarily due to obtaining agreement/permission to transfer the ownership of the media rights for various sports.

FṛḁՌk Wḁṛṛȅռ confirmed this week that he has a contract with BT Sports stating that he’s their only boxing content provider.

Therefore, BT Sports cannot broadcast any boxing events that hasn’t been supplied by FṛḁՌk Wḁṛṛȅռ.

And as we’re all aware, DAZN currently work with Matchroom & GBP, with Eddie Hearn being their primary boxing content provider.

FṛḁՌk Wḁṛṛȅռ recently enjoyed a long-term partnership with Bob Arum, with Top Rank currently providing boxing content to ESPN & Sky Sports.

So I wonder if they’ll rekindle their business ties if DAZN acquire BT Sport, since I can’t imagine FṛḁՌk Wḁṛṛȅռ and Eddie Hearn working with each other on the same platform?