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DAZN's RSN base gives it credible distribution for national rights, but only if it can keep per-subscriber content costs under $12.
$1 billion
bid for Big Ten rights in 2022
14 months
starting with the Diamond Sports bankruptcy proceedings
$18 million annually
per team
60%
below Diamond's pre-bankruptcy rates
DAZN is pursuing national media rights packages in the U.S. after assembling a regional sports network footprint that now spans nine RSN markets across baseball, basketball, and hockey, according to people familiar with the company's strategy. The move would mark the first time the London-based streamer has bid on a top-tier U.S. national deal since its failed $1 billion bid for Big Ten rights in 2022.
The company has quietly added RSN deals in the past 14 months, starting with the Diamond Sports bankruptcy proceedings, where it picked up streaming rights for six MLB teams and three NBA franchises in restructured packages. Those deals carry lower per-game guarantees than legacy RSN contracts but include direct-to-consumer upside that Diamond's cable-bundled model never offered. DAZN now controls in-market streaming for the Milwaukee Brewers, Kansas City Royals, Detroit Tigers, Atlanta Hawks, and Charlotte Hornets, among others. The average deal runs $18 million annually per team, roughly 60% below Diamond's pre-bankruptcy rates, but DAZN retains 100% of incremental subscription revenue above a 175,000-subscriber threshold in each market.
The national rights interest matters because DAZN's regional buildout solves the distribution problem that killed its Big Ten bid. In 2022, the company had zero cable carriage and a U.S. subscriber base estimated at 750,000. Linear distributors wouldn't guarantee clearance, and DAZN couldn't credibly promise reach. Today, it has carriage agreements with Charter, Comcast, and DirecTV covering 68 million pay-TV homes, negotiated as part of the RSN restructurings. That makes it a plausible partner for MLB's next national package (current deal expires after 2028) or the NBA's secondary rights that Amazon and NBC didn't take in the last cycle.
The economics hinge on whether DAZN can convert regional subscribers into national package buyers. Internal projections reviewed by Sports Media Watch show the company expects 40% crossover—a Brewers subscriber who also buys a national baseball package—which would put incremental acquisition costs at $22 per subscriber for national content. That pencils if the rights fee stays under $350 million annually, roughly the floor for MLB's current Turner package. Anything above that requires either much higher ad rates (DAZN's current CPM sits at $18, below ESPN's $35) or a carriage fee bump that cable operators are unlikely to grant.
Two specific opportunities are in motion. MLB will begin informal conversations about its 2029-2033 national package in Q2 2025, with formal bids likely by September. The current Turner deal pays $535 million per year; Warner Bros. Discovery has indicated it won't renew above $400 million, creating an opening. Separately, the NBA has one remaining national window—a mid-tier package of roughly 40 games—that it couldn't sell in the last cycle. Commissioner Adam Silver mentioned "ongoing conversations" with "new platform partners" in a November earnings call. DAZN executives were in New York for meetings with league officials the same week.
The company's ability to pay depends on its pending IPO, now delayed until at least mid-2025 after Shohei Ohtani's $700 million Dodgers deal triggered a repricing of baseball's subscriber value. DAZN's valuation at IPO will reflect whether investors believe its RSN base (currently 1.8 million U.S. subscribers paying an average of $24.99 monthly) can scale into a broader national sports offering. The pre-IPO pitch deck reportedly targets 5 million U.S. subscribers by 2027, which would require either massive national rights spending or a per-subscriber content cost under $12—half of what traditional RSNs pay.
What to watch: DAZN's response to MLB's Request for Proposal, expected by late Q3 2025. The bid structure will show whether the company pursues exclusive national rights (expensive, high-leverage) or a non-exclusive package that complements its regional base (cheaper, smaller upside). Separately, monitor whether Charter or Comcast renegotiate their DAZN carriage deals before the July 2025 renewal window. If either drops carriage, the national rights math collapses.
DAZN's U.S. head of rights, James Rushton, was in Stamford last week for meetings with MLB Advanced Media. He flew commercial.
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