Sports streaming service DAZN (“Da Zone”) wants to reach the customer figure of German pay-TV broadcaster Sky Deutschland following its acquisition of the UEFA Champions League TV rights in Germany and Austria.
“That’s something we have to achieve,” DAZN CEO James Rushton told German business magazine Manager Magazin. “In the medium to long term, success means having the same customer level as Sky.”
Sky currently has 4.9 million subscribers in Germany and Austria. DAZN hasn’t revealed its customer figure yet.
DAZN and Sky Deutschland jointly acquired the TV rights for the Champions League which will exclusively be shown on their subscription services from the 2018/19 season. German public broadcaster ZDF which previously transmitted selected games on free-to-air TV ended up empty-handed.
DAZN can cover more live matches than Sky, reports the magazine with reference to their rights contract.
Despite the Champions League rights purchase, DAZN will continue to be offered to viewers for the current price of €9.99 per month, stressed Rushton. The subscription can be cancelled monthly with the first month being free of charge.
DAZN which launched in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Japan last year, is operated by Perform Group, a UK-based media company in majority owned by US-British billionaire Leonard Blavatnik.
The multiscreen OTT service which sees itself as a kind of Netflix for sports wants expand into further markets as quickly as possible, according to Rushton. By 2020, DAZN plans to be present in 10 to 12 countries, he added.
