“DAZN” has cemented its supremacy in boxing on the TV rights market. As the streaming provider announced, the fights between the boxing stars from promoter legend Frank Warren’s Queensberry stable will now be shown exclusively on “DAZN”.
Queensberry has signed a “multi-year contract” with “DAZN,” it said. The start is April 1, 2024 – from then on Warren’s shows will run exclusively on “DAZN”.
The Queensberry stable of the 72-year-old and his son George, who runs the operational business as CEO, includes heavyweight stars Tyson Fury, Daniel Dubois, Zhang Zhilei and other top boxers from Great Britain.
DAZN is replacing “TNT Sports” (formerly “BT Sports”) in Great Britain, the British channel has been showing the Queensberry boxers’ fights on the island since 2018, and also broadcast Fury’s defeat in May against Oleksandr Usyk.
“This deal makes DAZN the undisputed, global home of boxing,” said “DAZN” boss Pete Oliver.
Boxing: DAZN displaced HBO and Showtime
The streaming service entered the boxing stage with a bang in 2018, paying Warren’s rival Eddie Hearn $1 billion over eight years for the exclusive rights to his Matchroom stable.
The goal of displacing the American top dogs “HBO” and “Showtime” was achieved; both channels have now withdrawn from boxing. In the USA, “DAZN” only has two competitors: “ESPN” and newcomer “Prime Video”. In England, the streaming provider now has a de facto monopoly thanks to the deal with Warren and Hearn.
Hearn’s full-bodied prophecy from 2018 that the entry of “DAZN” would mean the end of the pay-per-view model has by no means been fulfilled. The big fights of superstars such as Fury, Oleksandr Usyk, Anthony Joshua and Canelo Alvarez were recently only available for an extra fee (in addition to an existing subscription).
In Germany, for example, a ticket for Fury vs. Usyk in May cost around 25 euros, and Joshua’s last fight against Dubois cost 20 euros. In the USA, boxing fans had to shell out almost $90 for superstar Alvarez’s last fight in September.
