Revenues grew by 136.2 per cent between 20 to reach US$277.6 million. It is headquartered in London, although it does not have a consumer operation in the UK – DAZN is currently active in Japan, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Brazil, Canada and the US.ĭAZN does not discuss its figures publicly but according to documents seen by SportsPro in May, it has committed US$6.1 billion in rights outlay over a period beyond five years from April 2019, with US$2.2 billion invested by Access Industries and other parties in the company to date. Launched out of what was the Perform Group in 2016 and part of British billionaire Sir Leonard Blavatnik’s Access Industries conglomerate, it is the highest-profile ‘pure OTT player’ to enter the international market so far. It's how, of course, DAZN has been building its platform. It’s how Sony built its sport business in India with cricket.” It’s how Fox Broadcasting in the US built its business. “It’s also valuable because it tends to drive the adoption of new platforms. If you’re an NBA fan or a cricket fan or whatever, sport remains the content of the first order of passion for people. Why would people pay for it? If you’re a Spurs fan, which I happen to be, there’s very little you want to do during a match other than watch that game. “And it’s valuable because of the level of passion people have for it. “I think in the world we’re heading into,” he says, “which is going to be overwhelmingly about streamed content as opposed to linear networked content, I think sport will continue to be the most valuable video content in the world. And when it comes to sports broadcasting, he has faith in one core constant. That varied media career took him to DAZN in May 2018 and is headlined by a spell as president of US cable pioneer ESPN, where he signed massive long-term rights deals with the likes of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and Major League Baseball (MLB).
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I didn’t have in mind to have a career in sports media. It’s a blast to be able to pivot and potentially help Simon and his team create the most disruptive sports media company of the 2010s and 20s.” “I’ll tell you, it’s really fun, having had a long career in established media, print media, book publishing, magazine publishing, moving into the greatest entertainment company in the world in The Walt Disney Company, then managing the preeminent sports media company in the world. And then, I guess you would say, it turned out to be serendipitous and opportunistic that I pursued a more revolutionary, disruptive career at this point in my life. “So I didn’t have in mind to have a career in sports media. “I was in the publishing business with The Walt Disney Company when they bought ABC CapCities, which owned ESPN, and they moved me over to start ESPN The Magazine,” he recalls. There is something about change that agrees with him. “And you like being at the vanguard of change, having been at the apex of legacy.” He holds bachelor's and master's degrees in English Literature from the University of North Carolina and Columbia University, respectively.“It’s fun,” says the executive chairman of DAZN, sharing his thoughts with SportsPro from the company’s US office in his languid North Carolina drawl. Skipper began his career in publishing, rising to senior roles with Rolling Stone, US and Spin magazines. He is also an active philanthropist, serving on the boards of such organizations as the Institute for Sports and Social Justice, Glasswing (which creates safe communities for youngsters in several Central American countries) and Pacunam (a Mayan excavation project that will provide jobs and encourage tourism in the impoverished nation of Guatemala). Diversity was a hallmark of Skipper's tenure at ESPN, changing the way the network looked both in front of and behind the camera. In 1997, John Skipper launched ESPN The Magazine and went on to hold a variety of leadership positions including Executive Vice President, Content prior to being named President.
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From 2012-2017, Skipper served as ESPN President and Co-Chairman, Disney Media Networks, during which time he secured a series of long-term, multiplatform agreements with major rightsholders, including the NBA, MLB, the College Football Playoff, major college conferences, US Open tennis, and the Rose, Sugar and Orange Bowls. Prior to joining DAZN in May 2018, John Skipper spent more than two decades with The Walt Disney Company. DAZN, which in Skipper's words endeavors to become "the Netflix of Sports," can currently be seen in nine countries across four continents, providing viewers with such content as boxing, mixed martial arts, soccer and baseball.
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John Skipper, who during his four-decade-long media career has alternately served as storyteller and dealmaker, is the Executive Chairman of DAZN Group, overseeing the sports streaming service's global expansion, rights-acquisition strategy and corporate positioning.