Strategic options for Dazn

I don’t normally write about boxing, however, after watching the Canelo vs Jacobs fight I felt I had to quickly write this.

I’m a marketer in the technology space.

I am a fan and participate in combat sports.

I love what Dazn are doing for the sport of boxing.

Me as a boxing fan & a marketer I would love for Dazn to put on the biggest fights in the sport.

Dazn released viewer numbers for Canelo vs Jacobs at 1.2 Million viewers.

1.2 Million viewers in a country of over 300 million isn’t that amazing, ok not all Americans are boxing fans, I agree but here is how to get there.

Dazn could get to 100 million or more users worldwide if it followed this strategy: the open source model.

Here are the options…

Option 1:

Dazn or the promoters of various boxers need to promote their fighters on other sports.

As an example: AJ should be attending or creating a “story” with the NFL, Basketball, WWE, UFC, Golf and any sport that has a big following.

Floyd Mayweather followed this strategy very successfully.

Ali and Mike Tyson followed it in different ways.

@EddieHearn call me :).

Doing the above will build the profile of such fighters and if those stars are aligned with Dazn, viewer numbers increase.

Option 2:

Dazn as a platform should pursue the open source model of platform building.

In the software space, the largest platforms have always used the open source model.

Case study 1:

When Apple released the iPhone, it realised that it had to use the open source model for its App Store to allow a lot of app/content producers to build on the platform.

By doing so, the number of apps/content on iPhones increased and as a result consumers found more utility for the iPhone thus boosting sales and increasing its stickiness.

Case study 2:

Android used the open source model to overtake IOS as the largest phone operating system in the world.

Case study 3:

Magento is the biggest e-commerce platform in the world. Why? It used the open source model.

Case study 4:

In music streaming, Spotify has used the open source model to become the biggest music streaming service in the world.

As we have seen, the open source model has been used successfully in other fields and it can be used in boxing with Dazn.

How Dazn should use the open source model

Dazn should invite more promoters to sign a fight by fight deal or content deals with the platform.

Those promoters can choose to remain with other networks.

For example in the US: Dazn should sign with the PBC, Mayweather Promotions and Top Rank.

Same way Dazn has signed with Matchroom and Golden boy promotions.

That way it makes it more likely that we as fans get the best fights.

More super-fights mean more viewers.

By following an open source strategy Dazn will increase its subscriber base however, there will be a competitive response from the other TV networks and Dazn will have to be prepared for that.

One way to prep for competitive response is to use a lock-in strategy.

@JohnSkipper, call me :).

Let me know what you think.