- Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez returns to
DAZN on the broadcaster's newly launched PPV platform. - It marks an extraordinary U-turn for DAZN after it boldly claimed the death of PPV three years ago.
LAS VEGAS — International broadcaster DAZN is bullish on the depth of its 2022 boxing schedule after accepting defeat in an attempt to kill pay-per-view in the sport.
The broadcaster is home to big-name fighters like Vergil Ortiz Jr., Ryan Garcia, and Katie Taylor. It has a deal with Anthony Joshua to broadcast the British heavyweight's fights to its international audience. And it recently welcomed
Those inside DAZN have spoken at length to Insider about how integral Alvarez is, as a driver of subscriptions and customer-retainer, for their company.
For DAZN executive vice president Joe Markowski, "it's great to be back in business" with Alvarez, after they agreed to a two-fight deal last month.
It is reportedly a nine-figure contract that will see Canelo box Dmitri Bivol at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on May 7, before taking on Gennadiy Golovkin in a September trilogy bout, provided they each win their upcoming fights.
A third fight with an unnamed opponent — potentially super middleweight boxer John Ryder, or cruiserweight champion Ilungu Makubu — could take place in December.
According to Markowski, who spoke to Insider last week, "Canelo is chasing legacy and is prioritizing that" over other options.
"We put together a deal that makes sense for all parties and gives us two big pillars at the start and end of the summer to build our business around," he said. "We're very excited to start doing that now."
There is one key difference for Canelo fights on DAZN this summer
Beginning with the Bivol match, Alvarez fights on DAZN in the US will be offered exclusively on DAZN's new pay-per-view platform—notable given the network's bold claims three years ago that PPV is dead.
That fight will be priced at $59.99 for current DAZN subscribers (who pay $19.99 per month) and $79.99 for non-subscribers, though the latter will receive a one-month DAZN subscription with fight access.
The about-face has been met with fierce public backlash. "I understand the reaction to it," Markowski told Insider.
"Ultimately, to be in play for select major fights, we realized we needed a pay-per-view platform and missing out on the rights to fights because we didn't have one," said Markowski. "So we built one."
Put in even simpler terms: The rights to the biggest and best fights don't come cheap. DAZN needed a PPV platform so that it could involve itself in the big-fight conversation.
"Clearly, it's a slight tweak to our proposition, but ultimately our proposition is about consumer value," Markowski said.
Gen-Z superstar and knockout puncher Ryan Garcia boxes Emmanuel Tagoe in a lightweight bout April 9. A fight like that, Markowksi said, would continue to be "delivered in the low-price, month-to-month subscription offer."
He said: "Our use of the pay-per-view platform will be used sparingly, and it's something we ultimately use when we have to—to maintain our competitive position in the market.
"What we don't want to do is... leave ourselves unable to [be] involved in the likes of Canelo US conversations, and Anthony Joshua UK conversations.
"There are certain fighters and certain fights that require that model, and we've built that to give ourselves a chance to participate in all those conversations."
Previous marketing stunts may well be regrettable, in hindsight
In 2019, DAZN meme'd the apparent death of PPV by taking the famed printer-bashing scene from the 1999 movie Office Space and portraying ring announcer Michael Buffer, middleweight boxer Danny Jacobs, and Canelo Alvarez, as taking turns to beat the printer, here representing PPV, into pieces.
Now, Alvarez is the face of DAZN's new PPV division. "It would be easy for us to shirk away from that, and we're not doing that," Markowski said. "The market has evolved. Canelo's stardom has evolved. Our business has evolved.
"No one can criticize the value and service we're delivering," the executive said. "It's a very, very focused business and investment on serving US, UK, and global boxing fans for four years now.
"We own the fact we've positioned it differently previously [in the past]," he said. "But this is now a conversation about value."
Let's talk about that value
Future Hall of Fame fighter Roman Gonzalez's March 5 decision win against Julio Cesar Martinez, at the Pechanga Arena in San Diego, kickstarted a congested period in DAZN's schedule of events.
Here's what's to come:
- Leigh Wood vs. Michael Conlon — March 12
- Ortiz Jr. vs. McKinson — March 19
- Kiko Martinez vs. Josh Warrington II — March 26
- Gennadiy Golovkin vs. Ryota Murata — April 9
- Ryan Garcia vs. Emmanuel Tagoe — April 9
- Katie Taylor vs. Amanda Serrano — April 30
Saul Alvarez vs. Dmitry Bivol — May 7
The lineup of fights is the most significant period for DAZN since it entered the boxing marketplace, Markowski said, and the quality of its "well-sequenced run of events" is underreported.
"I personally find it slightly strange how certain segments of the media and fan base rally against DAZN at times," he said.
"I look at the ultimate measure, which is subscriber numbers and subscriber engagement. We were tested during COVID, maintained a solid base of subscribers, and in the last 15 months we've been in growth mode again.
"On a size-of-subscription-base perspective, we're the healthiest place we've ever been. That allows our business, our board, to be confident in giving us more funds to invest in making more fights," he said.
"I hope that narrative will shift, but a big number of our subscribers are consuming high-quality content week-on-week, month-on-month."
Outside of Canelo, the Taylor and Serrano world title fight represents one of the most significant women's boxing events in history.
"The ingredients in that fight are particularly interesting," Markowski told us. "First of all, and most importantly, it's a fantastic fight stylistically, and from an entertainment perspective.
"Secondly, it's a historic event that goes beyond the four walls of boxing. It's a moment in time for women's sport, and equality generally."
Jake Paul's involvement is an additional spice in the mix. And Katie Taylor, a bit like Canelo Alvarez, is pursuing history, as is Amanda Serrano."
As for Garcia, Markowski said the fighter wants to compete "regularly, having been out of the game for 15 months."
The 23-year-old fights at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, on April 9, the same day Golovkin fights Muraya at the Saitama Super Arena in Japan, marking a double-header of events for DAZN.
The result in Tokyo will also provide clarity for the second part of Alvarez's two-fight deal. A Golovkin win means the Kazakh will be hoping Canelo beats Bivol the following month, so they can collide again in September.
But, in case there is one upset — or two — DAZN has contingency plans. "Everyone at DAZN has been around boxing long enough that you can't plan too far in advance …. We've got litigations for anything we don't expect to happen. We've got plans B, C, D, and E covered."