Sports streaming service DAZN has appointed Thomas de Buhr as the head of its business in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
De Buhr will join the DAZN on July 1, 2018 in the newly created position Executive Vice President Marketing & Commercial in order to initiate the next growth phase in one of its core markets, according to parent company Perform Media Deutschland.
De Buhr previously headed Twitter in Germany as managing director for your years following positions at Google, ProSiebenSat.1, RTL Group and Mars Inc. This is the latest appointment in a number of senior management positions recently made. Last month, former ESPN president John Skipper took up the role of Executive Chairman ahead of the launch of DAZN in the US.
De Buhr will be responsible for managing DAZN’s marketing and commercial teams in Germany, Austria and Switzerland (DACH). The focus is on increasing brand awareness, user numbers and strengthening strategic partnerships. As a member of the global management team, de Buhr will report to DAZN CEO James Rushton.
“For DAZN, the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League broadcasting rights will be an exciting time in the coming season. We are therefore pleased to welcome Thomas to DAZN. He is energetic, committed and has a wealth of valuable experience that will help him to lead our business in the DACH region to further success,” said Rushton.
De Buhr added: “I am thrilled to join DAZN. As a big sports fan, the opportunity to combine my personal passion with my professional experience was very appealing. I look forward to developing innovative partnerships in cross-functional teams and to steadily increasing the customer base in the DACH region through bold marketing. The team has achieved incredible things in just 18 months since launch and 2018 will be the most significant year yet.”
DAZN is available in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Japan, Canada and soon in Italy and the US, running on a large number of connected devices including smart TV sets from manufacturers such as Samsung, LG, Sony, Panasonic and Philips, on Android and iOS smartphones and tablets, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Google Chromecast and on Xbox, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 game consoles.
