Irish Broadcast Partners Eyed by DAZN After Landmark FIFA Deal

Fresh off their $1 billion deal with FIFA to broadcast the 2025 Club World Cup, DAZN is reportedly eyeing two broadcasters from Ireland for sub-licensed coverage rights.

The record-breaking agreement reflects a broader change in sports, as FIFA moves toward streaming services over broadcast TV, but RTÉ and Virgin Media could benefit from the deal.

Source: Unsplash

Sports Streaming Continues to Grow

Over the past few years, we have seen several high-profile deals linking big streaming services and sports organisations. So, when FIFA failed to agree terms with its usual broadcasters, sports streamer DAZN must have seemed like the obvious choice.

In six short years, DAZN has become one of the biggest sports streamers in the space, available in 200 countries globally. Like many streamers, their success comes amidst a broader trend of entertainment moving toward online distribution. As well as online video streaming, other markets like iGaming have become prominent in the British media space through the large growth of their online offerings. For example, users can now watch TV or play bingo using almost any device that connects to the internet, including mobiles and smart TVs. As more industries continue to expand their online offerings, viewers should expect to see more sports deals favouring online distribution.

While DAZN’s new deal is one of the biggest in football, its $1 billion price tag is dwarfed by other partnerships in the space. For example, 2024 started with a $5 billion partnership between Netflix and the world’s biggest pro wrestling company, WWE. Many of these deals have been supercharged by a competitive streaming industry where live sports are a treasure trove of high-viewership, repeating content.

DAZN’s Sub-Licensing Plan Explained

To understand DAZN’s sub-licensing plans, you’ll first need to know the terms of their FIFA agreement. The landmark deal explains that DAZN will pay €15 million (£12.4m) for every game of the tournament – 63 games in total. For context, the average Premier League match would cost around €5 million (£4.13m) in a similar agreement.

⚽ DAZN x FIFA Club World Cup ⚽

We are thrilled to announce that #DAZN will be the exclusive global broadcaster of the @FIFAcom Club World Cup 2025™. Football fans around the world will be able to stream every match live on #DAZN for free!
Coverage will kick off on Thursday,… pic.twitter.com/ON5CrsGY81

— DAZN Sport (@DAZN_Sport) December 4, 2024

It’s not just a huge investment – there’s a lot of apprehension surrounding the expansion of the Club World Cup, which won’t include some of the big draws like Manchester United or Liverpool in 2025.

So, with that in mind, it makes sense that DAZN wants to shore up its investment with a sub-licensing deal. They are seeking out free-to-air broadcasters willing to buy broadcast rights, though there’s no indication of how much it would cost. If DAZN wants to break even on their investment, those packages could cost as much as €5 million (£4.13m) – a high asking price for a relatively new FIFA tournament, especially when FIFA World Cup packages are sold for just as much.

DAZN are reportedly sending out invitations to broadcasters, with Ireland’s RTÉ and Virgin Media on the list. Depending on how much the asking price is, broadcasters in smaller economies could be locked out of the deal. FIFA have stipulated that sub-licensing agreements should target larger audiences, hence why DAZN is soliciting free-to-air broadcasters and even streaming the Club World Cup outside their traditional subscription model.

As the tournament fast approaches, only time will tell if DAZN can define sub-licensing agreements with the world’s broadcasters.