DAZN Wants Premier League, in Advanced Talks for BT Sport

DAZN was locked out of the most recent negotiations for Premier League media rights, so it may buy its way in instead.

The sports streaming service is in advanced talks to acquire BT Sport, the sports media wing of British telecommunications and broadcasting giant BT. BT has been in discussions with various parties for over six months and could wrap up a deal in the coming weeks. 

In May, the Premier League extended its existing broadcast deals with BT, Sky, BBC, and Amazon to 2025. The deals are collectively worth $7 billion.

• The price for BT Sport is likely to reach at least nine figures.
• In addition to the coveted top U.K. soccer league, DAZN would gain rights in cricket, rugby, and Australian rules football.
• Due to a partnership between BT Sport and Sky, any deal would need Sky’s approval. 

DAZN won out over Sky in its three-year, $2.96 billion deal for Serie A rights in March and its $100 million, five-year deal for boxing property Matchroom. In June, DAZN rejected a $1.8 billion offer from Sky to share Serie A broadcasting rights.

BT Sport was launched in August 2013 and lost around $546 million annually in its early years, but now breaks even with over 2 million subscribers. 

Similarly to AT&T, BT is seeking to offload its media properties to focus on telecommunications and 5G.