Floated as a contender for months, DAZN has officially entered the local sports rights game via new deals with the Timberwolves, YES and MSG — with more to come.
DAZN has reached an agreement to become the exclusive home of local Minnesota Timberwolves telecasts this season, it was announced Thursday, marking the first such deal for the London-based streamer — whose interest in local rights has picked up over the past year.
Under the agreement, Timberwolves games will be housed within a team-branded subscription service set to launch later this summer. DAZN currently costs $35/month if paid monthly (that drops to $25/month if one pays for a full year), and it was not immediately clear whether the Timberwolves service would cost an additional fee on top of that. DAZN will make 15 games available to watch for free.
The Timberwolves deal is the first of potentially five exclusive local NBA broadcast deals for DAZN. Tom Friend of Sports Business Journal reported Wednesday that the streamer is close to deals with the Cavaliers, Grizzlies, Pacers and Spurs. The details reported by Friend Wednesday, including the 15 free games, line up with what the Timberwolves announced Thursday.
DAZN is also acquiring exclusive streaming rights to several teams whose games will continue to air on linear television, announcing a deal Wednesday to become the streaming home of teams on YES Network and MSG Network in New York — including the NBA Knicks and Nets, the MLB Yankees, and the NHL Rangers, Devils, Islanders and Sabres. Under the agreement, DAZN will replace the Gotham Sports app, which had previously been the streaming home of games on YES and MSG.
Other teams expected to sign with DAZN while remaining on linear include the NBA’s Magic and potentially the Hornets and Wizards, per Friend.
In the NBA alone, DAZN could end up with as many as ten teams on its roster next season between the five exclusive agreements and digital-only partnerships that include the Knicks, Nets, Magic and potentially the Hornets and Wizards, per Friend.
DAZN would end up carrying the majority (seven) of the 13 teams whose rights were held by Main Street Sports Group last season. Of the six remaining teams, the Hawks, Bucks, Heat and Pistons already announced deals with local over-the-air partners this season, and the Clippers and Thunder — per Friend — are pursuing over-the-air and streaming deals with other companies.
All of the new deals will necessarily have to be short-term in order to accommodate the NBA’s plans to launch a centralized streaming platform by the fall of next year. Friend reported Wednesday that DAZN is offering mutual opt-out clauses after the coming season (with a potential termination fee if either side drops out). Teams have been pursuing one-year deals or one-year exit clauses.
DAZN, per previous reporting, has interest in eventually hosting the planned centralized hubs in both the NBA and Major League Baseball, which are expected to launch in the next two years. Throughout the year, the streamer has been mentioned as a contender for local sports rights, first as a potential buyer of Main Street Sports Group, and eventually as a bidder for its own packages.
