- Users in Brazil will still be able to access the platform as before. The move means the country’s unit planning will be included in the global strategy.
- The company will focus on European and Asian markets, such as Germany, Austria, Italy, Japan and Switzerland, where operations are more consolidated.
London-based sports-streaming service DAZN is downsizing its Brazilian operation, which will no longer have a dedicated platform and specific strategy for its national market. Instead, Brazil will be included in the global planning of the service.
Users in Brazil will still be able to access the platform as before, as it continues to be available anywhere. The business reorganization means that Brazil is no longer a unit with a specific DAZN operation. According to Máquina do Esporte, the firm will keep an office in São Paulo, but with fewer employees.
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The company is also cutting staff from its U.S. operations. DAZN does not disclose how many people are being laid off, but sources familiar with the company say that they affect less than 2% of its global workforce.
Máquina do Esporte says the company will focus on European and Asian markets, where operations are more consolidated and where the platform has exclusivity over the most popular championships rights. Germany, Austria, Italy, Japan and Switzerland are now the five most profitable countries in DAZN worldwide.
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In Brazil and the USA, market competition has left DAZN with more niche events and sports.
During the pandemic, DAZN, which was dubbed “the Netflix of sports”, was hit by falling subscriptions, as live sports were put on hold for months in many countries. Last May, The Financial Times reported that the sports streaming service was looking for means to new funding, with the sale of an equity minority stake in the company.