News Corp has agreed to sell its Australian cable television division Foxtel to the British Sports Network Dazn for 3.4 billion dollars Australians (around 2 billion euros), debts included. News Corp thus reduces its exposure to streaming, getting rid of one company launched in 1995which has weighed on the media giant’s profits for years.
The reason for the sale is due to the fact that the number of people who paid monthly subscriptions for its contents is switched to cheaper streaming options like Netflix. Furthermore, the Murdoch giant will obtain a place on the board of directors and will maintain a 6% stake in Dazn.
The expansion of DAZN
We are obviously talking about the global streaming platform based in London available in North America, Europe and Asia and supported by the billionaire of Ukrainian origin Only Blavatnik.
This opens up Dazn’s path to the rich Australian market, including cricket and Australian football.
A market that adds to the broadcasting rights for the Italian Serie A, Spanish LaLiga, German Bundesliga and French Ligue 1the Club World Cup and which at the same time competes with traditional TV and satellite channels by providing access to a range of sports content, including American football, boxing and baseball on its streaming platform.
Blavatnik’s comment
“The Australians – explains Dazn co-founder and CEO Shay Segev – watch more sport than any other country in the world, making this deal an incredibly exciting opportunity for us to enter a key market, marking another step in our long-term strategy to become the global home of sport.”
In short, Leonis Blavatnik, “Mr. Dazn”, born in the former USSR, who in a few years became the master of ‘football’ in Europe, as well as the richest man in the United Kingdom and 45th Pepper in the world, has scored another shot.
“Dazn’s entry into the Australian market, potentially offering competitive or lower fares, could fundamentally change consumer expectations and reshape the pricing landscape,” he explains Paul Budde, independent analyst of the telecommunications sector.
The choice of News Corp
The global CEO of News Corp Robert Thomson explains that the evaluation of Foxtel represents seven times its 2024 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA).
Thomson then adds that the deal will allow News Corp to focus on “key growth segments”, including book publishing, Dow Jones and digital real estate services. The deal is not expected to be finalized before 2025 and is subject to regulatory approval.
However, the agreement marks News Corp’s retreat from streaming, after broadcasting rights in sports, and a concentration in publishing and real estate sales. In fact, News owns 61.4% of the online real estate platform REA Group and is the parent company of the HarperCollins publishing house.
2024-12-23 10:11:00