Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing Parts Ways With Sky Sports, Expands Partnership With DAZN
Eddie Hearn‘s Matchroom Boxing is parting ways with Sky Sports and expanding their deal with DAZN according to reports.
The Athletic reported the news on Wednesday evening, and according to the report, the promotion struck a record-breaking deal with broadcast streaming service DAZN that is worth well into nine figures. The five-year contract also ends Matchroom’s almost decade-long exclusive broadcast relationship with Sky Sports in the UK and strengthens the growing partnership between Hearn and DAZN, the report says.
Hearn, DAZN, and Sky Sports all declined to comment when The Athletic reached out to them for comment.
With the deal, the likes of Callum Smith, Conor Benn, Katie Taylor and Lawrence Okolie will now have their fights shown on DAZN. It also starts on July 1, but Matchroom Boxing will have two more shows on Sky Sports on May 15 and the final show will take place in June.
The news shouldn’t come as a surprise as Hearn and DAZN have been close partners putting on major fights and allowing Matchroom Boxing to grow. Although Sky Sports likely gets more viewers, they have been preaching that streaming services is the future and Hearn and DAZN are believing that to be true.
Recently, Eddie Hearn was also promoted to group Chairman of Matchroom Sport, with his dad, Barry Hearn stepping down.
“Anyone that knows me is well aware of what Matchroom means to me and our family. It has a legacy that spans 40 years from a small office under a snooker hall in Romford to a global powerhouse of sports entertainment. My father has dedicated his life to the company and since I joined in 2004 I have done the same. Now a greater responsibility falls on my shoulders and I am very proud to continue his great work and lead the business and the incredible team that we have built at Matchroom. We have seen astounding growth in the last ten years but we have only just begun. I look forward to continuously evolving and continuing the global growth of this astonishing family business,” Hearn said.
What do you make of this deal involving Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing and DAZN?
