DAZN will be doubling the cost for the monthly subscription fee to their streaming service after inking several lucrative contracts with many top boxers from around the world.
When DAZN first launched in the United States last year, the service came with a $9.99 per month price tag after the network signed several high profile boxers as well as a deal with Bellator MMA.
Now DAZN has doubled the cost of the monthly subscription with a new $19.99 price tag announced on Thursday. DAZN will also introduce a new yearly subscription program with a $99.99 price tag for viewers interested in paying up front for an entire year’s access for the streaming service.
“To further amplify our value to consumers, we will debut the DAZN annual pass for $99.99. For the price of one evening’s pay-per-view, subscribers will have access to an entire year of live sports, archived classic fights and original programming. Over the course of the year, our service will average out to just over $8 a month – unrivaled value within the industry,” DAZN executive vice president Joseph Markowski said in a press release.
“While our data indicates that most of our existing and new subscribers will prefer the annual option, we recognize that some fans prefer flexibility over longer-term value. And for that reason, we will maintain a monthly payment option, priced at $19.99.”
DAZN’s price raise comes on the heels of both the UFC and Professional Fighters League inking multi-year deals to join ESPN+, which is currently priced at $4.99 per month.
While the annual cost of a subscription drops DAZN’s pricing down to around $8.33 per month, the monthly fees have now been doubled.
All current subscribers will continue with the $9.99 per month fee for one year until the prices will automatically raise for everybody.
DAZN has been on a signing spree, inking deals with many of boxing’s top stars including a multi-year deal with Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez potentially worth $365 million. DAZN also has exclusive deals with Matchroom Boxing, who promotes heavyweight star Anthony Joshua, as well as a recent deal with Gennady “GGG” Golovkin.
Streaming services across the board have seen an increase in prices in recent years with Netflix recently moving their most popular priced package from $11 to $13 per month as they continue to invest more and more in original contest.
Disney is also planning to launch their own streaming application later this year called Disney+ but that service price point has not been set just yet.
For combat sports fans, DAZN definitely has many of boxing’s biggest stars locked down in exclusive contracts including Alvarez, Golovkin and Joshua. Now the question becomes are viewers willing to pay $100 per year or $20 per month to keep the service with rising costs on cable as well as streaming services in recent years.
Only time will tell.
