DAZN Targets NBA Local Streaming Hub in Billion-Dollar Bid

Key facts

• DAZN acquired ViewLift, which powers DTC streaming for Altitude Sports, Monumental Sports, NESN, Space City Home Network, and Chicago Sports Network.
• DAZN is offering teams rights fees between $8M and $15M annually for exclusive local rights.
• DAZN CEO of Growth Markets Pete Oliver confirmed the company wants to house the NBA's local broadcast streaming hub.
• DAZN is in talks with the NBA about becoming the league's centralized hub for local game streams.
• DAZN has just under $6B in revenue.
• DAZN previously failed in U.S. attempts: a 2018 MLB deal ended early in 2020, and a Pat McAfee simulcast lasted from July 2019 to May 2020.
• DAZN acquired exclusive global rights to the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup and sublicensed to TNT Sports and Univision Deportes.
• Competitors include Fubo (offering similar rights fees), Victory+, and over-the-air players like Gray Media, Scripps, and Nexstar.

DAZN Moves to Acquire ViewLift, Strengthening U.S. Local Sports Infrastructure

DAZN announced an agreement to merge the streaming platform ViewLift into its operations, marking its latest attempt to break into the U.S. local sports market. ViewLift operates direct-to-consumer streaming services for several regional sports networks, including Altitude Sports, Monumental Sports, NESN, Space City Home Network, and Chicago Sports Network. The deal will not result in immediate changes for teams with existing ViewLift relationships, but it allows DAZN and ViewLift to offer more options for teams seeking new media rights agreements. This acquisition comes as DAZN continues to pitch its platform to the 20 teams that recently left FanDuel Sports Network.

DAZN Pitches Flexible Options to Former Main Street Sports Group Teams

DAZN has offered interested teams several options to join its platform.rs the current ViewLift model, where DAZN operates and monetizes a direct-to-consumer streaming service without controlling local television rights. Another option involves DAZN holding exclusive local rights to teams, with annual rights fees ranging from $8M to $15M. More teams joining DAZN exclusively would allow the streaming service to create a larger hub of local sports rights. Current teams with direct-to-consumer agreements with ViewLift could join this model in the future. However, DAZN is not looking to create a streaming RSN similar to what Fubo, YouTube TV, and the NBA itself have pitched to teams.

DAZN CEO Confirms Pursuit of NBA's Local Streaming Hub

Pete Oliver, DAZN's CEO of Growth Markets, told Sports Business Journal that the company's immediate NBA plans are to chase digital rights next season for the 13 former Main Street Sports Group teams: the Hawks, Hornets, Cavaliers, Pistons, Pacers, Clippers, Grizzlies, Heat, Bucks, Timberwolves, Thunder, Magic, and Spurs. Oliver also said the company is willing to be flexible if a team it acquires requests an out to join the NBA's streaming RSN whenever it launches. Oliver confirmed that DAZN is already in talks with the NBA about becoming the league's centralized hub for local game streams. “Obviously [the NBA] will make their decision ultimately about who their partner is, and that’s their process and we’re very respectful of that,” Oliver said. “But let’s be clear, we want to be in that space.” He added that DAZN has an excellent relationship with the NBA internationally, having been a rights holder for many years in several countries.

Billion-Dollar Bidding War Looms as NBA Weighs Aggregated Streaming Platform

Sources have said the league’s proposed aggregated hub for local game streams could be at least a billion-dollar proposition. Several teams believe that rights fees for each franchise from the streaming RSN could average $40M, with some larger market teams receiving more, some less. If 25 teams opt in at that $40M average, that’s a payout of $1B alone. DAZN, operating with just under $6B in revenue would have the wherewithal to bankroll the platform. Amazon and YouTube are also potential bidders, which could create a fortuitous bidding war for the league. DAZN’s pursuit of the NBA’s streaming RSN and individual NBA/NHL teams over the past six to nine months illustrates how serious the company is about U.S. media rights.

DAZN's Local Model: Rights Fees, Simulcasts, and Free Streaming

The DAZN local model being pitched to former Main Street teams involves paying rights fees between $8M and $15M, placing a team’s local games on DAZN’s subscription streaming service, and simulcasting 10 to 15 of them on local linear over-the-air channels. Alternatively, they could stream 10 to 15 games for free in front of their paywall. “We’re in good discussions with a number of teams who are looking for a home for next season,” Oliver said, “and we think we’ve got a really good long-term sustainable business model for those teams to generate good revenues from their rights, but also reach a lot of fans -- primarily through digital but also still working with some local broadcast partners.”

Competition Heats Up: Fubo, Victory+, and Over-the-Air Players Vie for Rights

DAZN’s main competition for the Main Street teams appears to be Fubo, which is dangling rights fees in the same range or perhaps more. Fubo’s model is more of a hybrid — streaming and direct-to-distributor — and has gained traction with several teams because it is more of a known U.S. commodity. Some teams also prefer the Fubo blueprint because games would still be broadcast on MVPDs such as Comcast Xfinity, Spectrum, Cox, DirecTV, and DISH, creating stability from this past season. Fubo is also an established vMVPD that is 70%-owned by Disney, giving it access to ESPN and Disney ad technology. Meanwhile, the streaming and ad-supported platform Victory+ is in the hunt for the Timberwolves and two other former Main Street teams — believed to be the Magic and Hornets, though unconfirmed. Industry sources believe those deals are provisional and could depend on financing. Victory+ CEO Neil Gruninger, after recently acquiring rights to the WNBA Lynx, said he is full steam ahead, continuing to pursue NBA and WNBA franchises. Over-the-air players including Gray Media, Scripps, and Nexstar are making offers below $10M.

DAZN's U.S. Struggles and Strategic Shift Toward Partnerships

DAZN has long struggled to enter the U.S. market, with several attempts that failed to move the needle. In the fall of 2018, the company reached a three-year digital rights agreement with Major League Baseball that included a whiparound show. That deal ended early in 2020, with reporting at the time suggesting that DAZN was unhappy with viewership. In July 2019, DAZN tried to reach an agreement with Pat McAfee to simulcast The Pat McAfee Show, but that too was short-lived, with the two sides parting ways in May 2020. Since 2025, DAZN has taken a different approach, seeking to align itself with more established players. It acquired the exclusive global rights to the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup and reached sublicense agreements with TNT Sports and Univision Deportes in the United States. In April, DAZN announced another sublicense with TNT Sports to put monthly boxing events on regular television in the U.S. However, DAZN still lacks the depth of rights that competitors like Peacock, Apple, and Prime Video have, and thus lacks name recognition. As Oliver put it, “The missing piece for us is America.”

The bottom line

• DAZN's acquisition of ViewLift provides immediate U.S. infrastructure and relationships with multiple regional sports networks.
• DAZN is offering teams rights fees of $8M-$15M annually, with options for exclusive or non-exclusive local rights.
• DAZN is actively pursuing the NBA's proposed aggregated local streaming hub, which could be worth at least $1B.
• Competition for local rights includes Fubo (with similar fees and hybrid distribution), Victory+, and over-the-air broadcasters.
• DAZN's previous U.S. attempts (MLB, Pat McAfee) failed, but recent sublicensing deals for FIFA and boxing signal a strategic shift.
• DAZN's revenue of nearly $6B positions it as a credible bidder, but it still lacks the brand recognition and rights depth of rivals like Amazon and Peacock.