DAZN Owned Weekly Sporting News Now Acquired by PAX Holdings

Sports streaming service DAZN has just sold American sports weekly Sporting News to PAX Holdings Ltd, the UK-based family office.

DAZN Sold Iconic Weekly Sporting News

DAZN, the “Netflix of Sport”, has sold Sporting News, one of the senior U.S. sports publications, to the British company PAX Holdings. This sale is part of DAZN’s desire to focus its main activity around live broadcasting.

The company was separated two years ago from its original holding company, the sports data provider Perform Group, which was subsequently purchased.

The sports streaming service also completed the recent sale of Goal.com and two other soccer informative sites to a group sponsored by private equity giant TPG for over $100 million.

A representative at DAZN confirmed the purchase and the buyer, but the terms of the agreement have not been communicated.

Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, which hit professional sport quite seriously, this new streaming actor does not hide its ambitions. Therefore, DAZN will bring a full live stream and TV schedule of the Canelo Alvarez and Callum Smith fight on Saturday, December 19 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.

Sporting News first began publishing as a weekly newspaper in 1886 and went digital in 2013. DAZN, later Perform Group, first acquired 65% of the company’s shares in 2013, and then bought the remaining stake.

Len Blavatnik, a famous Ukrainian-born billionaire, backs DAZN, which is led by former ESPN president John Skipper. The company just announced the launch of its worldwide platform, a subscription offer covering more than 200 countries that will target combat sports from the outset. Some countries are already able to enjoy specific content, like Japan or Germany, which have a much broader range of rights.

A New Perspective for Sporting News

The new holder of Sporting News PAX Holdings is headed by CEO Tom Hall, a gaming executive veteran. The firm invests and provides strategic advisory services to businesses in the sectors of real estate, gaming technology, wines and spirits and social media marketing.

Sporting News may represent a significant value in the gaming category, as legal sports betting expands in the U.S. and all around the world, a lot of operators have called in established media companies to acquire new customers. Such a famous name among US sports lovers has the potential to become an affiliate in this scheme.