DAZN in MENA: A New Game Plan?
Understanding the recent moves of DAZN in MENA and their challenges and opportunities in the region.
Hey streamers 👋
This month, we’re highlighting the dynamic world of Sports across Middle East & North Africa.
Today, we're exploring the strategy of DAZN in the MENA region, looking at how they are positioning themselves and what are their challenges and opportunities.
Today’s program
Timeline of DAZN expansion efforts in MENA
Overview of DAZN Platform & Content
So What? Challenges and opportunities for DAZN in MENA
And… Action!
Timeline of DAZN expansion efforts in MENA
The timeline below highlights key events showcasing DAZN expansion efforts and content localization in the MENA region:
2020 - DAZN went global, launching in over 200 countries. While most MENA countries were likely included, the launch seemed more like a general rollout with no clear localization effort for the region.
November 2023 - DAZN finally started to focus on the MENA region by distributing its FAST channel DAZN Combat on STARZ ON, shortly after its FAST platform launch. DAZN Combat offers boxing, MMA, and other fight sports content.
March 2024 - DAZN added the PGA Tour Pass for Golf fans in MENA.
April 2024 - DAZN secured sports rights to the Masters 2024 Golf tournament for MENA.
July 2024 - Strategic partnership with Pulse Media MENA, appointing them as the exclusive media and advertising sales partner in the region.
July 2024 - DAZN streamed the Esports World Cup (that happened in Saudi Arabia) globally for free.
September 2024 - Al-Hilal and DAZN launched an exclusive channel to deliver content globally.
October 2024 - DAZN obtained exclusive rights to Riyadh Season events (co-exclusive within the MENA region) and international rights for boxing events outside of MENA.
It’s obvious that DAZN expansion in the MENA region is accelerating, with more sports rights available, and significant partnerships.
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Overview of DAZN Platform & Content
DAZN operates as an hybrid platform in MENA, combining AVOD and SVOD sports content.
Users can access it and watch a variety of sports for free, including top women’s football, select boxing events, and highlights from global sports like the NFL and basketball.
To access premium content (marked by a lock icon on the thumbnails), users need to subscribe (pricing in UAE):
“Monthly”: AED 37.99/month
Users can also purchase add-on content through Riyadh Season Cards. For instance, the fight last Saturday was priced at AED 72.99.
More subscriptions are also available: Game Pass (NFL), PGA Tour (Golf), and Rally TV
Mobile app users currently need to visit the DAZN website to complete their signup or sign-in process.
Here are the main sections of DAZN homepage in UAE: Home, Schedule and Search.
There are also several sports highlighted on the homepage
DAZN Boxing
NFL Game pass
PGA Tour
MMA
X Series
Channels
Additional Sports: Women’s Football, Rally TV, Golf, Football, Padel, Extreme Sports, Chess, Wrestling, American Football, Snooker, Esports, Basketball, Motorsport, Triathlon, Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship, Tennis, Sports Entertainment, and Powerboat Racing
I’m sharing with you below more details about the content promoted on DAZN homepage:
Upcoming Fight
Best of Riyadh Season
Documentaries
Top Sports and competitions
The Schedule page helps users stay informed about upcoming games and tournaments, and also provides a convenient way to catch up on missed events.
Sports channels available on DAZN MENA remain limited, with only two currently available: NFL Network (American Football) and PGA Tour (Golf).
Most of DAZN FAST channels are not yet available in MENA: Rise, DAZN Women’s Football, Matchroom Boxing, Boxing TV, PDC Darts, Motorvision TV, Lacrosse TV, Padel TIME TV, SportStak, Moto America TV, Billiard TV, and ACL Cornhole TV. I’m sure we’ll watch those channels on DAZN and/or local FAST platforms in the future.
DAZN users can access the same content on their iOS app. Additionally, there is a Score tab where users can find scores and statistics from numerous games.
If you want a complete list of sports rights and where they are available, check out my special report, which will be released at the end of the month.
So What? Challenges and opportunities for DAZN in MENA
Even though DAZN launched its full service in MENA years ago, they still have a long way to go to be part of the top sports platforms in the region.
From a platform perspective, DAZN would be more user-friendly with a dedicated section for free content, making it easier for users to identify what's available without a subscription. Given the price sensitivity in some MENA countries, the AVOD section could see significant success.
From a content perspective, launching a FAST channel in MENA was a smart move for DAZN to better understand the market. I’m sure we can expect more of their channels to be available on local FAST platforms in the future.
One key challenge is that most of the sports available on DAZN in MENA are from outside the region, highlighting the opportunity for more localized sports offerings. Including popular regional sports like cricket could be a game-changer for DAZN in MENA.
Efforts like the Riyadh Season are a good start, and their upcoming event should be interesting: The 6 Kings Slam, an exhibition tennis tournament in Riyadh from October 16-19, will feature Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, and Holger Rune. Each participant is guaranteed $1.5M, with the winner taking home $6M, the largest prize in tennis history.
Will you watch it?
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This article is part of my Sports in MENA series for October. The first one was about the Football Rights and Streaming Challenges in MENA vs Europe. You can read it here:
To wrap up the series, I’ll be releasing a special report: a guide to how streaming is transforming sports in MENA, including a summary of the sports rights available by platforms.
That’s all for today, the recent moves of DAZN in MENA and their challenges and opportunities in the region. If you found this breakdown valuable, spread the word and share it with your network!
I hope everyone has a great week, see you online or IRL next Monday. I'll be attending MIPCOM 2024 in Cannes, providing special coverage of the event, including the three main summits.
Applied AI Summit - Presented by Jonathan Verk,
Global FAST & AVOD Summit - Presented by Marion Ranchet
Connected TV Summit - Presented by Alan Wolk
If you can’t make it,
from and I will be sharing our hot takes during a live webinar on October 29th. Register here.
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Read all the previous edition of The Streaming Lab here.
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