MLB, DAZN agree to 3-year live digital rights deal

Major League Baseball and global sports streaming platform DAZN have agreed to a three-year live digital rights partnership in the United States, set to begin with the 2019 MLB regular season, it was announced today by Baseball Commissioner Robert D. Manfred Jr., and DAZN Group Executive Chairman John Skipper. Thursday's announcement was made after the 30 Major League clubs approved the deal.
The partnership will deliver a live show each weeknight, available to subscribers via DAZN's digital sports streaming platform, that will feature live look-ins to the best MLB action as it's happening. This show will seamlessly whip around live MLB games to showcase the most suspenseful moments, crucial plays and biggest rallies. Additional details of the show, which will be coproduced by MLB and DAZN, will be announced in the coming months. There also will be on-demand MLB content and live weekend wrap shows available to DAZN subscribers.
"DAZN's multisport streaming platform provides Major League Baseball and our Clubs an important opportunity to extend the game's digital reach," said Commissioner Manfred. "Our collaborative production will benefit DAZN's subscribers with new ways to follow the captivating storylines, talented young stars and impactful plays happening around the game every day."
"We are thrilled to partner with MLB on this important new initiative, which will be a great complement to and promotion of the outstanding lineup of live games from its national and regional broadcasters," said Skipper. "We will target young multicultural fans, many of whom do not have pay television. The fast-paced nature of a whip-around show will appeal to this audience and bring in new fans. Ultimately, our goal with MLB is to grow both the overall audience for baseball and the burgeoning DAZN business."
DAZN burst onto the scene in 2016, debuting in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Japan. Its early success across Europe and Asia spawned launches in Canada (2017), Italy and the U.S. (2018). Just this week, DAZN announced it would expand to Spain in 2019.
This MLB announcement aligns with DAZN's promise to become a multisport offering after beginning its U.S. market entry within combat sports including more than 100 fight nights from Matchroom Boxing, Bellator MMA and other international promotions.
DAZN, just $9.99 per month after a one-month free trial in the U.S., is available on connected devices including Smart TVs, smartphones, tablets, games consoles and PCs.
Last month, DAZN announced a groundbreaking partnership with boxing superstar Canelo Alvarez and Golden Boy Promotions that will take the Mexican sports icon off of pay-per-view for his next 11 fights and make him widely available on the DAZN platform for a low monthly subscription cost.
Internationally, MLB has partnered with DAZN since 2016, featuring live baseball games in Japan, Germany, Austria and Switzerland.