DAZN bags eight-year broadcasting deal with European League of Football
Europe’s biggest American football league will get more exposure ahead of the launch of DAZN Bet in France.
UK.- The sports streaming company DAZN has signed a deal to show all 101 European League of Football matches in the 2025 season. The ELF is the biggest American football league in Europe, comprising 16 teams across Austria, France, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Italy, Hungary, Spain and Switzerland.
It hopes to expand global viewership by launching an ELF Game Pass with DAZN, similar to the system used by the NFL in the US.
Zeljko Karajica, Managing Director of the ELF, said: “The long-term partnership with DAZN marks a landmark moment in ELF’s history. With DAZN at our side, we can continue to drive forward our vision of establishing American football as an integral part of the European sports scene and popularising it worldwide.
“The combination of an innovative platform and enormous reach will allow us to bring the games and stories of the ELF to millions of fans around the world. This is a huge step for the league, its franchises and football in Europe. We are convinced that this collaboration will play a key role in growing our fan base, further igniting passion for the sport and taking the European League of Football to a new level.”
DAZN streams sports in around 200 markets and has secured several high-profile media rights deals in Europe. Meanwhile, it’s planning to expand its sports betting brand to France with Bet Construct. DAZN Bet started in the UK in 2022 and has already expanded to Germany, Spain and Italy.
Shay Segev, CEO of DAZN Group, said: “The European League of Football is a dynamic newcomer in European sport. As the International Home of NFL Game Pass, DAZN is driving the rapid growth in popularity of American Football in Europe. The ELF has proven its potential to drive this further.
“Our mission at DAZN is to offer the most attractive and diverse experience, and the ELF shares this ambition with its high-energy content. With this partnership, DAZN will create a global home for the ELF, reaching new audiences and growing the popularity of American Football in Europe”.
DAZN’s latest report to Companies House shows an operating loss of $1.38bn in 2023 compared to $1.06bn in 2022. The company blamed the decline on “key exceptional items”, possibly including licence fees for big tournaments. The good news was a 30 per cent increase in revenue to $2.3bn and a 25 per cent rise in EBITDA from negative $1.1bn to positive $830m.
