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Sky Sports is back on level ground after losing more broadcasting rights to DAZN.
The division of Comcast secured a four-year deal with Top Rank Boxing, per The Athletic. The first fight airs this Saturday.
Sky Sports’ 27-year run with Matchroom ended earlier this month when the boxing producer announced a five-year deal with DAZN as an exclusive broadcast partner in the U.K. and Ireland. The deal goes into effect July 1 and is worth more than $100 million.
It wasn’t the first time DAZN took broadcasting rights from Sky — in March, DAZN was granted international Serie A rights in a three-year, $2.95 billion deal.
“Top Rank has a deeper stable of star power, and that will be a boon to Sky Sports’ content schedule, but the network will surely miss the presence of all the U.K. fighters Matchroom offered,” said Mike Coppinger, The Athletic’s boxing insider.
- Sky won’t receive any rights to Tyson Fury’s fights, as the Top Rank co-promoted boxer has an exclusive TV deal with BT Sport.
- The time difference means some American fights will air in the middle of the night in the U.K.
Last year, Top Rank’s founder and CEO Bob Arum — who’s worth a reported $350 million — said he’s open to selling the company. “If it was sold to the right people, it would do better than it’s doing now.”
