Saudi Arabia’s Surj Sports Investment has confirmed that it has taken a minority stake in streaming platform Dazn and entered into a joint venture aimed at showing more events taking place in the kingdom.
The announcement confirms long-running rumours of Saudi investment in Dazn and despite the country’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), of which Surj is a subsidiary, publicly denying talks just four months ago.
Surj and Dazn’s joint venture, Dazn MENA, will “unlock new broadcasting opportunities for Saudi Arabia’s growing sports sector”, the companies said.
“Dazn has established itself as the global sports platform of choice, and this is a really exciting opportunity to build on Dazn’s significant successes in recent years by bringing more sports to fans and audiences around the world,” said Surj CEO Danny Townsend.
“Surj supports the leadership of Dazn, and our partnership will accelerate the growth of Dazn and capitalise on the significant and growing demand for high-quality sports broadcasting.
“This investment will help Surj achieve its mandate of driving fan engagement, encouraging sports participation and unlocking game-changing opportunities, and further showcasing the region as a destination for world-class sports.”
Dazn has enjoyed increasingly close links with Saudi Arabia in recent times, primarily through its relationships in boxing, where it has deals with leading promoters Matchroom and Queensberry.
Investment from Surj can also ease the financial strain at UK-headquartered Dazn, which has needed more than $6m in funding from main investor Sir Len Blavatnik to support its attempts to establish itself and has agreed to pay Fifa $1bn to show the Club World Cup this summer.
“Dazn is the only truly global entertainment platform dedicated to sport, which makes us ideally positioned to expand access to sports content globally from Saudi Arabia’s growing sports sector,” said CEO Shay Segev.
“As part of the MENA joint venture with Surj, Dazn is committed to maximising the reach and accessibility of sports, while delivering the best entertainment experience to a global community of passionate fans.
“This is a milestone partnership for the group, which is bound to transform the sports entertainment landscape in Saudi Arabia and the wider region.”