DAZN hires Apple's Ben King

DAZN has hired Apple’s Ben King as SVP for global distribution and business development with a brief to help drive its expansion around the world.

King joins the sports streaming service in February, having worked at Apple for 12 years, most recently as commercial director for international services where he had responsibility for business insights, business development, strategic partnerships and content licensing outside the US.

Based in London, King joins DAZN to build commercial and distribution partnerships with platforms, telecom operators, retailers, brands and portals.

DAZN is currently live in seven countries across three continents and is launching in Spain and Brazil in early 2019. Its ambition is to be in 20 markets by 2020.

He will report into chief business development officer John Gleasure who said: “His global experience and insight-driven approach will enable DAZN to grow faster and stronger as we extend our business deeper into both existing and new markets. We are delighted to get him onboard.”

King said: “DAZN has spotted an opportunity to develop a global sport streaming service before anyone else and is executing aggressively to extend its lead.”