Whether you believe that football is played with a black and white round ball or a brown oblong ball, sports fans around the world are going to get an extra dose of the NFL starting next season.
On Tuesday, it was reported by the Sports Business Journal's John Ourand that sports streaming service DAZN has secured the international streaming rights to NFL Game Pass. Starting in the 2023 season, DAZN will stream Game Pass in 200 countries and territories around the world, but not the United States or China.
Game Pass helps NFL fans around the world access their favorite teams and watch live games. The service has two tiers, the Essential plan, which offers condensed game replays on-demand, live NFL programming from the NFL Network and NFL RedZone, and more. The Pro plan offers all of these features, plus live games (blackout restrictions apply in the United Kingdom and Ireland).
Game Pass is very similar to NFL+, the on-demand service that the NFL launched in the U.S. before the start of the 2022 season. The main difference between the two services is that NFL+ is only available in the U.S., where it essentially replaced Game Pass. Also, NFL+ only allows for live content to be streamed on mobile devices.
Given the NFL’s growing international popularity, this is an excellent move for DAZN. The NFL is expanding the number of games it plays outside the U.S., and in the 2023 season the league has scheduled five games to be played in Europe. Three will be played in England, while two of the contests will take place in Germany. The Buffalo Bills, Tennessee Titans, Jacksonville Jaguars, Kansas City Chiefs, and New England Patriots will each play international games during the 2023 regular season.
The addition of NFL Game Pass will help DAZN expand even more widely in Europe. It is already the biggest sports streaming service in the continent, and thanks to its acquisition of the ELEVEN Group in September 2022, the service now streams more than 40,000 soccer matches internationally every year.
A new global partnership which was recently announced with Prime Video will also help DAZN widen its reach around the globe. DAZN initially rolled out in Spain and Germany on Prime Video Channels, and the service will be made available on that platform in more regions throughout 2023.
DAZN
DAZN is a live sports subscription streaming service that offers 80+ fights a year from Matchroom USA, Bellator, Golden Boy Promotions, World Boxing Super Series, and Combate Americas. All plans include UEFA Women’s Champions League, darts, and documentaries.