DAZN chief confirms interest in BT Sport

By Neil Wilkes, Editor-in-chief

Published: September 16 2021 | 23:12

Last updated: September 18 2021 | 01:21

DAZN chief confirms interest in BT Sport

DAZN chairman Kevin Mayer reveals that the streaming service is potentially interested in buying BT Sport.

DAZN chairman Kevin Mayer has confirmed that the company is interested in a potential acquisition of BT Sport.

Earlier this year telecoms giant BT revealed that it was open to finding an investment partner - or possible buyer - for its BT Sport division as it instead refocuses spending on broadband infrastructure.

Streaming service DAZN has been keen to become a big player in the UK market for some time, with a particular desire to land Premier League rights, and now Mayer has said that buying BT Sport could be a shortcut to that aim.

"We would love to have EPL, there are many paths to get there," he told the RTS Convention in Cambridge. "Ultimately how we get there... whatever makes the most sense.

"BT Sport is a great business because they have a lot of rights that are fabulous – EPL, Champions League, rugby.... they're a good sports service."

On a potential future bid for Premier League rights, he said: "We'd like to be able to compete for rights when they come up. And certainly we want to be at the table or have a chance to be at the table in the future – so I hope that I would hope that that's how it will be handled coming forward."

Other interested parties in BT Sport are said to include Disney and Amazon.