Established streaming service DAZN are looking to become the “Netflix of sport”, with the platform set to expand to 200 countries – including the UK – this year. and is targeting Premier League rights for the British market.

Despite being London-based, DAZN are yet to launch in the UK due to the high cost of sports rights driven by Sky and BT has delayed a UK launch. DAZN are established in nine international markets and secured the rights to Champions League football in Germany from 2021, ending Sky’s two-decade grip, while also owning the Champions League and Premier League rights in Canada and Japan.

Now, DAZN are targeting getting UK rights once Sky and BT’s package expires in 2022, with the Premier League looking already gearing up to sell rights to Netflix-style services following Amazon Prime’s debut deal which saw them pay £90m to simulcast 20 matches a season – a move widely lauded by viewers.

Last year, John Skipper, Dazn’s executive chairman and the former president of the sports broadcaster ESPN, told a conference late last year that Premier League rights are key to cracking the UK: “The UK is a logical Dazn market. In terms of the rights in this country, obviously you need Premier League rights, boxing is very important here and tennis is very important here.”

DAZN’s move to secure streaming rights follows the news that The Premier League is working on plans to create its own Netflix-like streaming service according to the division’s new CEO, Richard Masters.

Masters has revealed a new ‘Over The Top’ service that will see live games streamed via the channel could be in place as early as 2022 in some overseas markets.

DAZN has yet to set the price of its new service but it is expected to be about £4.99 a month – with fans currently having to subscribe to Sky Sports, BT Sport and Amazon Prime – with all three typically costs about £912 a year, an average of £76 a month.

It’s clear that with the increasing demand for an ‘OTT’ model akin to the NFL’s ‘Game Zone’ service, the way Premier League games are broadcast in the next few years is due to change drastically. Keep it locked to VERSUS for the latest developments in this story.