DAZN Group reports £970m 2020 loss

DAZN Group has reported a loss of $1.3 billion (£969.7m) in 2020.

The broadcaster, which has deals to air Serie A and La Liga in their domestic territories, was hit hard by the disruption to the sporting calendar caused by the pandemic. Consumers getting rid of subscriptions during postponements was blamed by the accounts, with an explanation reading: “When sports content resumed in the latter half of the year, the group saw improved subscriber and revenue growth.”

The delayed accounts, for the year ending December 2020, revealed that revenue rose from $819 million (£611.7m) to $871.8 million (£651.2m), including a 20.5% increase in OTT revenue.

The £970 million figure is actually lower than the $1.4 billion (£1.05bn) loss from 2019. Operating costs fell by roughly a quarter from $2.75 billion (£2.05bn) to just over $2 billion (£1.49bn), largely fueld by a drop in rights costs from $1.7 billion (£1.27bn) to $1.2 billion (£900m). The full 114 page report can be read here.

After a $4.3 billion recapitalisation by billionaire investor Leonard Blavatnik’s Access Industries, the group remains debt free.

This news comes after DAZN looks to have failed in its attempt to acquire UK sports broadcaster BT Sport. US giant Discovery has entered into exclusive talks with BT over a joint venture, leaving some analysts to doubt the viability of DAZN in the UK - which would be a major setback as one of the largest global sports markets.

Earlier in 2022, the company appointed the former head of gambling group Entain, Shay Segev, as CEO, and outlined a plan to move into recreational betting, gaming, e-commerce, NFTs and tech advances in the viewing experience.