DAZN Group has created 300 jobs in Leeds as it becomes largest sports broadcaster in Europe

DAZN Group, the technology media giant which runs its streaming operations from Yorkshire, has revealed that its revenue rose to $2.3bn last year as it snapped up a “significant volume” of rights to major sporting events.
By Greg Wright
Published 15th Jan 2023, 01:00 GMT
Updated 16th Jan 2023, 07:16 GMT

DAZN’s revenue in 2021 was $1.56bn, which was up 79 per cent from 2020, when the pandemic caused significant disruption to global sporting events.

A spokesman said the Leeds operation has been at the heart of DAZN’s growth to become the largest sports broadcaster in Europe.

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The group employs around 300 staff at the White Rose Office Park in Leeds, which is its main broadcast operations centre. The live feed for the Champions League and Bundesliga in Germany, Serie A in Italy, LaLiga and Premier League in Spain, and the J-League in Japan, all feed into Leeds before being streamed out to customers.

DAZN Group, the  technology media giant which runs its streaming operations from Yorkshire, has revealed that its revenue rose to $2.3bn last year as it snapped up the rights to dozens of major sporting eventsDAZN Group, the  technology media giant which runs its streaming operations from Yorkshire, has revealed that its revenue rose to $2.3bn last year as it snapped up the rights to dozens of major sporting events
DAZN Group, the  technology media giant which runs its streaming operations from Yorkshire, has revealed that its revenue rose to $2.3bn last year as it snapped up the rights to dozens of major sporting events

DAZN also has rights to the UEFA Women’s Champions League, which is streamed across more than 200 territories.

DAZN Group’s 2022 annual review reveals that the sports platform streamed 1.2bn hours globally across 130m connected devices in 2022, a rise from 1bn hours and more than 100m devices in 2021.

The company said in a statement: “DAZN is now the largest digital sports broadcaster in Europe, having added more than 75 rights to the platform over the past 12 months. DAZN now has 15 million premium paying subscribers.”

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Shay Segev, the group’s chief executive officer, said: “The past twelve months have been a highly significant period for DAZN as we look to become the ultimate daily destination for sports fans.

"We have experienced healthy growth across our markets, added a significant volume of global and domestic rights to the platform, and substantially increased our revenues by adjusting our core offerings and exploring new revenue streams.

"Looking forward, we have a clear plan in place to deliver the next phase of DAZN’s progress. Our focus will be on making the product more accessible, removing further friction and improving customer engagement. We are excited for what the future holds.”

Kevin Mayer, chairman of the board of directors, said: “DAZN Group has gone from strength to strength over the past year. Driven by a highly experienced new senior leadership team drawn from across technology, media, telecommunications, entertainment and sport, the business has proven the potential of an innovative direct-to-consumer sports offering.

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Mr Mayer added: “With these solid foundations in place, we are in a strong position as we enter 2023.”

DAZN said it was moving beyond its position as a global sports streaming platform to become “the daily sports destination for fans everywhere”.

The statement added: “ In the future, DAZN will provide fans with everything they want and need; from the largest library of live and on-demand content to news, analysis, merchandise, ticketing, gaming and betting. This will not only deliver for DAZN customers but create value for rights holders, commercial partners, and the business.”

Over the year, global broadcasting rights to the women’s football divisions Finetwork Liga F and Frauen-Bundesliga were acquired, complementing DAZN’s existing rights partnerships with the UEFA Women’s Champions League and Japanese WE League.

Related topics:LeedsYorkshireChampions League