Online streaming service DAZN will become the new home of Matchroom Boxing shows in the UK and worldwide.
The five-year contract, reportedly worth £100m, will see at least 16 Matchroom events staged in the UK broadcast exclusively live via sports streaming platform, self-styled as the ‘Netflix of sports’, from July 2021 onwards.
DAZN’s new partnership with promoter Eddie Hearn covers all of Matchroom’s current stable of fighters, except for two-time unified world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua, who has one fight remaining on his current TV deal with Sky Sports.
The deal officially brings to an end a long and successful partnership between Matchroom Boxing and Sky, which stretches back to the mid-1990s, while cementing the relationship between Matchroom and DAZN, which already held exclusive rights to broadcast the promoter’s fights outside of the UK.
DAZN promises to deliver a “non-stop schedule” of Matchroom UK boxing shows to domestic and international viewers, kicking off on 31 July with the start of the Matchroom Fight Camp series, which will run over three back-to-back weekends.
The streaming service says it will initially keep its monthly £1.99 subscription price in place for its summer series of shows, which its says is “a special limited-time offer” that was introduced when it entered the UK sports rights market in late 2020.
Details of further Matchroom UK fight nights for the rest of 2021 – which are set to domestic, European and World title match-ups – as well as DAZN’s on-air presenting line-up and commentary team, will all be confirmed in due course.
Commenting on the switch from Sky Sports to DAZN in the UK, Eddie Hearn, Matchroom Boxing chairman, said:
“We have made the monumental decision to sign a historic 5-year deal with sports streaming giant DAZN. This means that our UK events will now be broadcast live on DAZN along with all Matchroom shows across the world.
“Pushing the boundaries is something we will always continue to do and we needed a partner that shared our vision for boxing, and who was also willing to make the investment to make those dreams a reality. This is also an amazing opportunity for our newly formed production and content business, Matchroom Media, who will now be responsible for live production across our events, working in close collaboration with DAZN and enabling us to form a cradle to grave mindset across inception to completion of our shows so we can deliver the live event experience to the viewer in the narrative and style in which we have built it.
“As we continue Matchroom’s expansion worldwide, this new deal will enable us to further cement DAZN as THE unrivalled global home of boxing. Our aim, alongside DAZN, is to create the biggest and best live fight nights and deliver a viewing experience that is truly game-changing.”
As well as the live events, Matchroom shows and fighters will also feature across DAZN’s range of support programming, including The DAZN Boxing Show, 40 Days, and Making Of series, alongside fight night highlights, clips, interviews, behind-the-scenes content, and classics bouts.
DAZN and Matchroom will also collaborate on a range of new documentaries, features and shows, which aim to bring fans closer to the sport and fighters from all around the world, both in and out of the ring.
James Rushton, DAZN’s co-CEO added:
“Game. Changed. This historic deal builds on the success and momentum of our long-term partnership with Matchroom around the world and solidifies DAZN at the forefront of the global sports streaming era.
“Together, we are committed to building the new home of boxing in the UK and Ireland while continuing to grow the global home of boxing in a way that matches today’s evolving viewing habits and brings fans all over the world more of the most premium live action, more round-the-clock global storytelling, and more broadcast and content innovations – only on DAZN.”
DAZN is available to watch in the UK via laptops and PCs, as well via the DAZN app on any internet-connected device, including smartphones, tablets, living room devices such as smart TVs, streaming sticks and game consoles.
For more information about DAZN, including subscription details, visit the official website – dazn.com
For a full list of all forthcoming major live boxing shows on the box, visit SOTB’s dedicated boxing TV listings page.
