dazn.com

Other streaming services try to be more all-encompassing, giving viewers access to a variety of sports leagues and events. Whichever route you decide to go down, it's important to make sure your streaming service can truly offer something different than the competition.

When it comes to streaming services, differentiation is very important these days. Why do you ask? Well, simply because there are so many streaming services out there to choose from - many of which can be quite pricey - especially in the world of live sports broadcasts. Some sports streaming services differentiate themselves by taking the niche route, offering full access to only one league sometimes (for examples of this, you need to look no further than streaming services provided by trusted entities like the NHL, MBA, and NFL). Other streaming services try to be more all-encompassing, giving viewers access to a variety of sports leagues and events. Whichever route you decide to go down, it's important to make sure your streaming service can truly offer something different than the competition. Other services, such as those that specialize in sports and games, offer a large variety of sports and games to their customers. However, these services can feel directionless, cumbersome, and hard to navigate. Although they often provide the best bang for your buck overall, some customers may find themselves wanting more specific content or a more focused sports streaming package. The most important thing to consider when choosing the best sports streaming package for you is what sport or sports you care about the most and watch the most frequently.

If you answered "Football" to the question of what sport you would prefer to watch on a streaming service, the niche aspect of the NFL's service will be very appealing to you. However, if you are a sports fanatic in general and prefer watching any and all sports equally, you should look at a more generalized streaming service.

There are also sports streaming services that exist somewhere in between the most specific and the most general - services that cater to a specific type of sport, not necessarily a single league or division of it. If you're looking to watch the latest fight, be it in the vein of boxing or Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), perhaps your best bet will be a streaming service that calls itself DZN (apparently meant to be pronounced "Da Zone").

DZN is one of the best over the top sports streaming sites and apps out there. With a subscription, you can save money on Pay Per View broadcasts of big fights. The monthly or yearly single cost is cheaper than other sports streamers.

History

Perform Group announced its acquisition of exclusive global broadcasting rights to the Japanese football league, J. League, for a Yen equivalent of $2 billion. This contract would give Perform exclusive rights for up to 10 years, with DAZN (a subsidiary of Perform) beginning broadcasting all matches from all 3 divisions of J. League starting in 2017. This deal is often cited as the largest Japanese broadcast rights deal in history. DAZN first launched in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland on August 10th of 2016. The Japanese launch, too, followed closely behind, occurring on August 26th of the same year. From there, DAZN continued to grow and expand. In July of 2017, DAZN began broadcasting NFL games in Canada, and in May of 2018, it launched in the United States under the leadership of former ESPN president John Skipper. The goal of DAZN in the US was to compete directly with traditional US cable companies when it came to sports broadcasts.

DAZN has struck a long list of deals with various sports leagues in the US and around the world. They have committed heavily to catering to combat sports, acquiring rights to many boxing and MMA companies, but they have also set their sights on Major League Baseball and further expansion of their NFL Red Zone rights so as to off-balance their combat sports offerings with more mainstream, family-friendly competitions.

Design

DAZN has a sleek and user-friendly layout. It is extremely easy to navigate, in my opinion, and it won?t take much of any time at all to figure out how to use the service no matter what device you are using it on. DAZN's design should look familiar to anyone who has used a movie and TV streaming service in the past - you can browse exclusive commentary-based content and archived matches by scrolling through the portal page, or you can make use of the service's stripped-down and convenient menu bar (located at the top). From here, you will find 3 simple options. There are Home, Schedule, and Sports. Sports is a handy dropdown menu that allows you to select and deselect whatever sports you are or are not interested in from the list. This will refresh the content you are to see based on your preferences. Therefore, once you choose your own customized list of sports, when you click on Schedule, the upcoming games and matches that you are shown will reflect that decision.

The apps and website are very well designed. A simple black background gives way to white text. And the layout is designed to cater to your viewing habits. The home page, for instance, offers up a few key sections: Don't Miss, Classic Fights, DAZN Presents, and Keep Watching. Overall, DAZN offers all of the design features you want from a streaming service.

Content

The vast majority of DAZN subscribers are actually fans of MMA content. This has been true since the service first launched years ago, as you can watch any live PPV fight, as well as browse a rich catalog of archived MMA fights any time you like. DAZN is a streaming service that offers a variety of programming, including live sports. MLB fans will find game highlights and commentary in real-time, as well as original programming like the daily MLB show Change-Up. Outside of the US, fans will be able to enjoy live games from the MLB, NFL, NBA, and NHL.

Desktop and Mobile Experience

DAZN seems to work very smoothly, no matter what device you use or what streaming quality you choose (you can stream content in up to 4k). Of course, speed depends almost entirely on your internet connection. But granted you have a solid wifi connection, you won't have to worry about anything going wrong on DAZN's end. The service is available across almost all devices. Enjoy games and fights on your smart TV, smartphone, tablet, computer, or game console for an equally user-friendly, effective, dependable, and intuitive experience.

Pricing and Plans

I have some big complaints with DAZN. It is not cheap. In fact, it is one of the more expensive sports streaming services on the market. DAZN offers two subscription models for you to choose from, either monthly for $19.99 a month or yearly for $99 a year. Unfortunately, DAZN does not offer a free trial period, and that's probably a smart business move because it keeps users from signing up for the trial whenever there is a specific PPV event they want to watch for free.

Suggestions that I have for DAZN

I would love to see DAZN expand the breadth of its content in the United States. I understand that these contracts and rights acquisitions can be next to impossible to land with companies like the NFL and the NBA, but it would be nice for American viewers to be able to watch more than just MMA, boxing, and MLB highlights. I would also, obviously, like to see the price point go down. At least for the US version, seeing as it offers such an odd slice of sports content.

Conclusion

If you live outside of the United States, DAZN is definitely worth looking into. However, if you are an American, you might want to continue looking - unless, of course, you are an MMA and/or boxing fanatic. In that case, DAZN is right up your alley.