DAZN exec says Australia an 'outlier' on sports rights as Foxtel eyes NRL renewal
DAZN cofounder James Rushton believes Australia has resisted factors putting downward pressure on global sports rights values, as Foxtel prepares to renew its deal with the NRL.
The co-founder of Foxtel's new owner DAZN has signalled the global streamer expects the cost of sports properties such as the NRL in Australia to keep rising, despite downward pressure on broadcast rights in other markets.
Speaking at the SportNXT conference in Melbourne on Thursday, DAZN cofounder James Rushton said Australia is an outlier, and along with the flagship US properties the NFL and NBA, is one of the few areas where costs are not declining as legacy media operators tighten their budgets in many markets.
“We talked about the NBA and the NFL domestic rights yesterday, and I think Australia has also been an outlier,” Rushton told the conference.
“And if you look at the level of competition in this market, and also if you think about some of the key factors that are driving that downward pressure in terms of the global media rights, they’re not as prevalent here in Australia.”
