OTT sports streaming service DAZN has acquired global rights to the upcoming boxing match between YouTube stars KSI and Logan Paul.
DAZN will stream live coverage of the fight in the US, Canada, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Japan and Brazil. The fight will take place at Staples Center in Los Angeles on November 9.
The fight will be presented by Eddie Hearn for Matchroom Boxing USA in association with OP Talent. Hearn requested that both fighters turn professional for the rematch and undergo the required medicals that any other boxer would.
Liam Chivers, managing director and founder of OP Talent and manager of KSI, said: “The deal will cover global rights, distribution, promotion and appearance commitments for the fight.”
Chivers added: “A no-risk, high-budget, secure platform deal had to be achieved. I wasn’t going to risk broadcast on an unstable or unsupportive platform and have cost and piracy risk put on KSI.
“So, spending ten months working to get the broadcaster and rights terms in place first was essential. DAZN of course also brings a top-class live sporting event production to subscribers of their service, which is part and parcel of the deal.”
Joseph Markowski, DAZN’s executive vice-president of North America, said the platform is looking forward to bringing the fight to a “new group of potential DAZN subscribers around the world”.
The rematch comes after KSI and Paul fought out a draw at the Manchester Arena in August 2018. That fight was watched by over a million live pay-per-view buyers on YouTube.
KSI and Paul have over 40 million YouTube subscribers between them.