Today, DAZN Group, announced former Disney+ head Kevin Mayer has been appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors. Mayer was most recently the CEO of popular social media platform TikTok, but left in August 2020 after the app drew the ire of former President Donald Trump due to its Chinese ownership. According to a statement, Mayer, “will provide strategic direction to DAZN’s strong leadership team as the company continues along its aggressive growth trajectory.”
“As Chairman, I’m looking forward to partnering with the management team and my fellow directors to help DAZN build on its impressive track record of success in developing a truly global sports platform,” said Mayer. “I look forward to guiding DAZN’s strategic development into its next chapter.”
Mayer replaces John Skipper, the former head of ESPN, who is stepping down as Chairman to focus on Meadowlark Media, his fledgling media company co-founded with former ESPN Radio host Dan Le Batard. “I’m incredibly proud of what the team has accomplished over the past several years,” said Skipper. “It’s the ideal moment to transition the company into its next phase of growth. Having worked closely with Kevin at The Walt Disney Company for more than two decades, I can’t think of a better person to lead the DAZN Group Board of Directors.” Skipper will remain on the board of DAZN and serve as an advisor.
DAZN’s new era started with Skipper, who pivoted the company’s focus from the U.S. and Latin America to the rest of the world, but will now fall on Mayer, who lead the charge for Disney when it came to launching Disney+ and it’s international strategy. DAZN has already started acquiring the rights for American sports leagues in other countries and will likely continue to do so under Mayer, especially as international rights become increasingly difficult to maintain for traditional U.S. broadcast companies.