There’s been a TON of talk about DAZN since Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn and Goldenboy promoter Oscar De la Hoya lit the flame. On the American landscape the move was met with skepticism by fans and media alike. That skepticism has grown for some, but for others, we see that skepticism, coupled with borderline resentment, quickly fading. Here’s the skinny on why DAZN (pronounced Da Zone) could totally take the fight game over, and what this means for Al Haymon/Showtime:
Oscar De la Hoya recently spoke on how “cool” it would be to see Canelo fight in Mexico’s Azteca Stadium. Few were able to grasp the gravity of his thoughts, but a deeper analysis speaks to his vision. Under the old boxing way of life, it was basically a requirement to sell the fights exclusively in America and stage them at American venues because the American PPV count was what drove the bottom line profit dollars for American promoters. Under the DAZN platform, there’s no focus on American PPV counts or staging the fights in America because DAZN is a stream service, not a Channel Broadcast service. So basically, anyone who has internet service anywhere around the world can watch the fight on phone, tablet or TV in HD, regardless of where the fight is staged.
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What does this mean? Remember Mayweather’s PPV tallies at 2M, 4M, 4.5M? Well, DAZN’s platform is tallied around the world, not just in America. So we could literally see numbers return upwards of 20M+ worldwide, or more. Casting a net that broad allows DAZN to pay the astronomical figures we’ve seen tossed around lately. What this also does is allows the fighters to take their talents abroad where large venues like Wembley and Azteca would break the charts! This phenomenon could produce a modern day “Thrilla-In-Manila”, or “Rumble in the Jungle”. (Just consider the magnitude of Canelo in Stadium Azteca on Cinco de Mayo). The days of paying $60, $70, or even $100 for PPV fights will become a distant memory in the past as soon as DAZN fills their stables with a roster of fighters the world wants to watch.
Canelo received a record breaking deal, becoming the flagship fighter of the banner. Behind him, you have Anthony Joshua and a hand full of others. Another name DAZN has been in full pursuit of is Mikey Garcia, although none of the fighters on Garcia’s radar would be possible if he were to sign with DAZN, which brings interest to the only downside with new streaming olive branch. The fact that it’s a stream service will make it very difficult to pair a fighter under this platform against a fighter under the network platform. For example, SHOWTIME is going to want the basic old school PPV platforms ($55-$100). DAZN is going to support their less-for-more $10 per month business model.
Fans can expect the two sides to figure something out when it comes to huge crossover fights like we saw with Mayweather (SHO) vs Pacquiao (HBO). But that will be the exception….not the norm, as the DAZN platform is actually a modernized evolution of the old process that will only continue to grow and evolve.
Caught in the middle is manager Al Haymon, who mapped out a similar trajectory with the PBC business model that goes away from PPV and allows networks to get in on the action. Only trouble there is that his model has been outdone with the advancement of technology, which now implements low-cost streaming. In effect, what we’re seeing is the same transition we watched in the music world where CD’s became obsolete, paving the way for streaming services like Tidal and Spotify. Haymon’s inability to make bigger fights for most of his talent earlier in the PBC deal has left him with a depleted rank of fighters that will now look at DAZN to produce the activity and circulation that Haymon’s enterprise didn’t deliver. Few in the world of entertainment have the brainpower and consummate ‘know-how’ of Al Haymon.
But truthfully, his options are minimal at this stage. Being more ‘manager’ than promoter, many of the fighters in his stable will eventually be met with offers they can’t refuse and exposure they can’t deny. It’ll be very intriguing to see how Haymon responds, but the best move he can make is probably to enlist the services of DAZN himself to add to his currently deep base of broadcasting opportunities. A decision not to consider this move could spell the beginning of the end for both, the PBC and Showtime platform, although it’s hard to see such an outcome with the next 3-4 years. Currently, all eyes are on Pacquiao, The Charlo Brothers, and Errol Spence as the best available talents on the roster. If either slips away to DAZN, the fight world could be forced to say goodbye to another broadcasting giant soon and very soon. Stay tuned!
(Vivek “Vito” Wallace can be reached at 954.770.9807, on Facebook in daily fight threads, or occasionally on Twitter)