Subscription OTT streaming platform DAZN should more than double its monthly US subscription fee in order to lock in a long-term commitment from boxing fans, according to Eddie Hearn, managing director of the Matchroom Boxing promoter.
Speaking to the SI Boxing podcast, Hearn said DAZN should seek to capitalise on rising audience figures for its boxing content.
In May 2018, DAZN (then Perform Group) announced an eight-year $1bn (€894.4m) deal with Matchroom Boxing to stream top bouts to fans in the US market.
Hearn said: “Joshua-Ruiz was three times what Joshua got on Showtime. Even in America, it’s approaching a million audience [on DAZN]. That’s a huge number. One of the problems we had recruiting fighters in the early days was, ‘Oh, no one is watching DAZN.’ They are. More people are watching.
“We’re getting bigger audience numbers than Showtime. [Jermall] Charlo just boxed on Showtime and got 300,000. You got Jacobs-Chavez, and that’s going to do 500-600,000 on DAZN. Joshua did nearly a million on DAZN. I so believe in the product of DAZN for the value for a fight fan.
“I’m actually going to say to DAZN, ‘I think you should bump the monthly fee up.’ It’s $19.99 a month. Make it $50 a month. We don’t want you to come and go. We want you to stay and be a part of this community, learn more about boxing, digest the fighters, and grow with us.”
DAZN doubled the price of its US subscription from $9.99 to $19.99 per month in March 2019.
Hearn’s comments come after DAZN’s Brazilian operation last month announced that, from the first quarter of 2020, its monthly subscription price would be reduced from R$37.90 to R$19.90. The new price point will be available to current customers as well as new subscribers.