If there were any doubts that streaming services are ready to play a huge part in the ongoing landscape of combat sports, DAZN say their boxing broadcast of Canelo Alvarez vs. Danny Jacobs last week have put those to bed.
According to the LA Times, DAZN executives are touting a number of 1.2 million views of their May 4 showdown featuring Canelo, which saw the Mexican emerge victorious via unanimous decision. Supposedly, the event brought the subscription service around 600,000 subscribers.
Last year, DAZN signed Canelo to an exclusive 10 fight deal worth hundreds of millions of dollars, much to the surprise of the sporting world. While some had wondered if the move to a OTT platform would diminish the boxers reach, the figures from last Saturday prove that an audience is indeed there for monthly subscription services.
DAZN often promote themselves as the ‘Netflix of sports’, and had an established base overseas before their aggressive expansion into the United States. Along with Canelo, they also have signed deals with Gennady Golovkin, Anthony Joshua and Bellator MMA.
The numbers provide the first concrete evidence that — in spite of the doubts from various pundits and boxing figures — there is a viable alternative to pay-per-view.
The Times are reporting DAZN’s income revenue for Alvarez vs. Jacobs is a near $50 million, which would provide them profite on the purses ($48 million) seen by both boxers.
