Global sports streaming service DAZN has added to its combat sports portfolio after striking an exclusive multi-territory rights deal with international kickboxing series Glory.
Glory said the deal includes rights to air its premium tournaments live across “many markets around the globe,” including the Netherlands, Canada, the DACH region (Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein), the Balkans, and the US.
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Along with live events, DAZN will also showcase ancillary content and past events on its platform.
The deal begins with Glory’s Last Heavyweight Standing tournament, which starts on April 5 and features 32 fighters.
DAZN Group chief executive Shay Segev said: “DAZN and GLORY have a shared ambition to showcase star-studded kickboxing talent, and this partnership heralds an exciting addition to DAZN’s platform.
“As the global home of combat sports, DAZN is committed to bringing the most nail-biting fights to fans around the world who love the sport, while providing an unparalleled viewing experience.”
The deal is a major win for Glory’s growth ambitions as it looks to build momentum on its new partnership with Betr, the betting service founded by Jake Paul, to modernize its engagement with fans and expand its global reach.
Its tournaments have previously only been available via pay-per-view on TrillerTV, the streaming platform formerly known as Fite, while some content has been shown for free via streaming service YouTube.
The deal, meanwhile, builds on DAZN portfolio of combat sports rights which includes mixed-martial arts promotion UFC, rival Professional Fighters League and the Bare-Knuckle Fighting Championships, as well as high-profile boxing promotion Queensberry Promotions.
DAZN also holds a lifetime broadcast contract with British star Anthony Joshua.
Meanwhile, DAZN is offering customers in France a three-month subscription to watch domestic soccer’s top-tier Ligue 1 matches if they buy a McDonald’s meal.
The offer is valid for the first 120,000 customers who purchase a meal worth €14.15 ($15.33) from a dedicated Ligue 1 menu in McDo+, the fast-food chain’s delivery app in France. The customers will then be given a code to access the free three-month subscription.
A monthly subscription to watch Ligue 1 matches on DAZN currently costs €39.99 in France, while a single match is €14.99. Customers under 26 years old pay a discounted price of €10 per month.
The offer marks the latest move from DAZN to improve viewership of the league’s matches amid struggles in its rights negotiations with the LFP governing body.
So far, the broadcaster has only attracted 400,000 subscribers – far below its target of 1.5 million – making it difficult for the company to recoup the €375 million it pays per year for the rights to show eight of the nine Ligue 1 fixtures each weekend.
DAZN shares the domestic rights with pay-TV broadcaster BeIN Sports, which has rights to show one game per weekend.
DAZN and league organizer LFP had been locked in a dispute earlier this year over the broadcaster’s failure to pay its rights fees, culminating in mediation by the Paris Economic Activities Tribunal.
The streamer had withheld the funds in January citing challenging operational conditions, partly due to piracy issues and insufficient cooperation from certain clubs in promoting the Ligue 1 product and failing to provide editorial content.
It eventually paid the funds it owed for its January media rights fee – in late February.
