Highlight Reel: DAZN Tears Down Women’s Football Paywall to Build Up the Sport 🧱

Plus a Kings League-esq cricket tournament is set to launch in India and LALIGA+ has acquired the rights to the African Cup of Nations

Jan 19, 2024

Welcome to Sports Pundit, the sports business newsletter delivering insights from across the industry.

In today’s email;

DAZN Remove Paywall from Women’s Football Content 📺
In India, Cricket and Bollywood remain King 🏏
LALIGA+ Acquires Rights to African Cup of Nations ⚽️

Thanks to everyone who came to the events last night in London, Manchester, New York and LA! Collectively, we had over 100 people turn out, which is no small achievement for a cold evening in mid-January!

If you’re based down under, get yourself over to Melbourne for the tennis and to be part of the inaugural Sports Pundit Social Club in Australia, in collaboration with No Standing (RSVP here) 🦘🇦🇺

Thanks to Leanne for being the latest guest to come on the podcast and to everyone who has listened so far! Let me know what you think and who you’d like to hear from on future episodes. I’ve got a few great ones lined up, but I’m also very open to suggestions and introductions!

Andy 😊 🙏

👉 If you enjoy today’s edition, pease forward it to a friend or colleague.

The Sports Pundit Social Club (SPSC) was designed to enable you as readers to hang out with one another without the heavy cost that often goes with traditional sports industry events.

To see upcoming events and reserve your place follow the link below 👇

Get Social

BIG DEAL

Breaking Barriers: DAZN Tears Down Women’s Football Paywall to Build Up the Sport 🧱

DAZN has made a significant move by removing the paywall from all of its women's football content.

This decision to remove the paywall means that all remaining Women's Champions League matches for this season, along with games from Liga F, Frauen Bundesliga, D1 Arkema, Serie A Femminile, and the Women's Saudi Premier League, will all be available for free.

And they’re not stopping there.

DAZN has also announced their “New Deal” campaign, urging stakeholders in women's football to think ambitiously about their commitment to its expansion - something which Nicole Bekkers (Founder & CEO of FC88) believes could have a significant positive impact on the women’s game:

What she said:

“The OTT platform for sports and entertainment wants to unite all stakeholders in a once-in-a-generation opportunity to make women's football commercial viable and sustainable.
Their own action: they have removed the paywall to the largest portfolio of women’s football worldwide. This will drive audience growth and provide a new global home for women’s football.

Yes, [this is] a clever move to build out their own platform to be the biggest online content hub for women's football. [However,] I also like the idea to build on the momentum in women's football and create a larger than life legacy for all the women and girls within the football industry [by calling] for partners, stakeholders and competitors to do the same. For the greater good and impact.

The initiative already has the support of Electronic Arts (EA) and adidas… So, who is next?”

Not yet a subscriber? Join over 1.5k sports business leaders, from Formula 1 to the Premier League, that read Sports Pundit every week to get impactful industry insights.

HIGHLIGHTS

Amazon to acquire stake in Diamond Sports under bankruptcy reorg with Prime Video to become the primary streaming partner for RSNs 📺
Bruin Capital has purchased a minority stake in Box to Box Films, the producers behind Netflix’s Drive to Survive, Full Swing, and Break Point 📺
Louis Rees-Zammit announces he is quitting rugby to join NFL International Player Pathway (you can check out his documentary on BBC iPlayer, too) 🏉
Major League Soccer launches Innovation Lab to drive player development, create new fan experiences and deliver advanced media technologies ⚽️
Sports icons Tom Brady and Serena Williams among founding partners of world’s first advisory, investing, and content management business in sport 💼
Retired Major League Baseball All-Star José Bautista has reached an agreement to purchase United Soccer League’s Las Vegas Lights FC ⚽️

STREET TO STADIUM

In India, Cricket and Bollywood are King 👑

Almost 20 years after T20 first emerged, some believe it’s now time for a new format; one which more closely represents the cricket that is played by the masses on the streets of every city in India, as well as across the subcontinent.

Enter the Indian Street Premier League (ISPL), a tennis ball T10 tournament set to be hosted in Mumbai in March, 2024.

The tournament will include six teams in total, each owned by a franchise that represents Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata, and Srinagar.

It endeavours to unite the finest local cricket talent in India, creating a comprehensive platform for players to showcase their skills. The league aspires to transcend boundaries and establish itself as an international platform, fostering the growth of future cricketing superstars while adding structure to the cricket scene in cities.

However, for Akshata Shukla, founder of SportsKhabri, the most compelling element of this announcement is the (Kings League-esq) celebrity ownership of these ISPL franchises, which, when combined with the sport of cricket, is sure to attract the attention of a large Indian audience.

What she said:

“What makes this league interesting is that multiple celebrities have come forward and invested in different franchises.
Mr Ravi Shastri is the Chief Mentor of the entire league. The other two core committee members are Ashish Shelar, BCCI Treasurer and Amol Kale, President, MCA.
[Bollywood stars] Ram Charan owns the Hyderabad franchise, Amitabh Bachchan owns the Mumbai franchise, Suriya Sivakumar owns the Chennai team, Akshay Kumar is the co-owner of the Srinagar (Jammu & Kashmir) team, and Hritik Roshan owns the Bengaluru franchise.
It isn't the first time that Bollywood has shown interest in a sport but what interests me here is that in times when some of the other leagues in the country are struggling to get brands onboard, how will this new property in the market emerge in the long run. Of course, cricket and Bollywood being the crowd catchers will be crucial.”

THE PODCAST

Want to hear more from my conversation with Leanne?

We discuss community vs audience, taking inspiration from the Bored Ape Yacht Club, implementing innovation and Web3 projects within a high-profile sports organisation like New Zealand Rugby, founding the internet's coolest climate action corporation, and much much more.

Listen to the full podcast via the link below - and I’d love to hear what you think!👇

Listen Now

The Sports Pundit Social Club (SPSC) was designed to enable you as readers to hang out with one another without the heavy cost that often goes with traditional sports industry events.

To see upcoming events and reserve your place follow the link below 👇

Get Social

JOB BOARD

Sports Presentation, Ceremonies & Entertainment Manager - Women’s Rugby World Cup England 2025 (London, UK)
Broadcast Coordinator - Wimbledon (London, UK)
Corporate Communications Executive - McLaren Racing (London, UK)
Brand Experience Specialist, Sports Marketing - Nike (Oregon, US)
Senior Director, Tournament Revenue - PGA TOUR (Florida, US)

Apply via MLS Talent

Operations Manager / General Manager - Motorsport (London, UK)
Account Manager/ Senior Account Manager - Motorsport (London, UK)

Do you have a job you’d like to promote to the amazing readers of this newsletter? Email me 📩