DAZN Global CRO & President of DAZN USA Walker Jacobs took the stage in NYC to unveil DAZN's streaming offering for local U.S. sports teams.
DAZN Global CRO & President of DAZN USA Walker Jacobs took the stage in NYC to unveil DAZN's streaming offering for local U.S. sports teams.
NEW YORK -- DAZN hosted a media gathering at the Lavan Chelsea in Manhattan Wednesday night, with the agenda of laying out its vision for regional sports coverage in the U.S.
The global streaming giant has snapped up streaming rights to 19 NBA/WNBA/NHL/MLB teams -- some fully exclusive, some simply digital-exclusive -- and its technology is underpinning more than 30 including white-label clients it absorbed with its acquisition of ViewLift.
Wednesday was about previewing what DAZN’s team partners, and the fans of those teams, can expect when the NBA and NHL seasons begin -- and potentially beyond.
Platform features
DAZN will offer fans the option of subscribing to stream games of single teams on a standalone basis, or as an add-on to a broader DAZN subscription. Prices vary by market, but as one example, a subscription to the Cavaliers prices $19.99/month ($119.99/year) for a standard membership, and $24.99/month ($139.99/year) for an “ultimate” tier that includes benefits like additional viewing feeds and access to ticket/merchandise promotions and discounts. DAZN also plans to augment coverage of its fully exclusive partners by sublicensing select simulcast rights to free over-the-air channels.
Within the DAZN platform, each team partner will have a dedicated hub including live games and replays; schedule, roster and standings information; and original DAZN content like podcasts and talk shows. For game replays, there will be options for extended or shortened highlights, with a “spoilers” button that flags key moments in the game when switched on.
DAZN will also have a second-screen community feature called “Fan Zone” that will allow fans to participate in quizzes, polls and a live chat.
“We’ve built this offering around what fans want -- standalone subscriptions, flexible plans, free ways to try it, availability on every screen, and much more than a place to watch, from dedicated team hubs, to ticketing and merchandise offers, and our unique Fan Zone experience,” said Walker Jacobs, DAZN’s Global CRO & President of DAZN USA. “The product is now live, and you can bet we’re going to be adding enhancements throughout the season.”
Looking ahead
It is no secret that DAZN desires rights to the aggregated streaming hub for local broadcasts that the NBA plans to launch for the 2027-28 season. YouTube, Amazon and ESPN have also shown interest.
“If there’s an NBA solution, we would love to be the partner,” DAZN CEO of Growth Markets Pete Oliver said after the event. “The NBA have a great vision for what they want to achieve. They want to give the teams some level of flexibility. And we’re really engaged in that process.”
Oliver said DAZN’s team deals are long-term agreements that include opt-outs to join the NBA’s aggregated streaming hub when it comes to fruition (if they so choose). He stopped short of calling the 2026-27 season an “audition” of DAZN’s ability to power the local streaming hub but framed it as an opportunity to “show people how to do regional sports right.”
“We’ve got incredible credentials internationally, but doing it in the domestic market, showing people we can do a great job, makes it real,” Oliver said. “For the league, for the teams, we want people to come away thinking, ‘Wow, that’s a great product.’
“Obviously, the basics are: It’s reliable, the streaming works well, I can get it on every device. All of this is true of our product because we’ve already done things like the World Cup, we do the NFL internationally. We want people to see and feel it for themselves. But beyond that we want to show we can be great, authentic partners with the teams.”