Britain’s third-richest man, Sir Leonard Blavatnik, has once again dipped deep into his fortune to keep his ambitious sports streaming venture alive. The billionaire investor injected an additional $587 million (£438 million) into DAZN, his global streaming platform often dubbed the “Netflix of sports,” as part of ongoing efforts to stabilize the loss-making company.
The fresh capital takes Blavatnik’s total investment to over $7 billion since DAZN’s launch nine years ago, a remarkable commitment to a platform that has both dazzled sports fans and drained investor funds. Despite its bold mission to revolutionize how audiences consume sports content, DAZN has yet to turn a profit.
From its London headquarters, DAZN set out to disrupt traditional sports television by offering on-demand, multi-sport streaming at competitive prices. The company poured billions into securing exclusive broadcasting rights for marquee events across boxing, basketball, and top-tier European football, including Germany’s Bundesliga and France’s Ligue 1.
The platform also expanded into sports betting and other digital entertainment services to diversify its revenue base. But its aggressive expansion has come at a steep price. Newly released financial filings show DAZN posted a $962 million loss in 2024, an improvement from the $1.4 billion loss the previous year, yet still a massive shortfall.
Even with these losses, DAZN recorded an 11% rise in revenue to $3.2 billion, driven by steady subscriber growth and price increases. The company’s outlook received a short-term boost earlier this year after Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund acquired a 5% stake through its sports investment arm, Surj, for $1 billion.
Born in Ukraine and educated at Harvard and Columbia, Sir Leonard Blavatnik, 68, is one of the most influential investors of his generation. He built his wealth during the post-Soviet privatization boom, acquiring stakes in oil and aluminium ventures before founding Access Industries, his investment powerhouse.
Through Access, Blavatnik controls a diverse empire spanning Warner Music Group, film studio A24, and London’s Theatre Royal Haymarket. His portfolio also reflects his personal interests as a major donor to the U.S. Republican Party and a supporter of the University of Austin, a self-described “anti-woke” institution founded by journalist Bari Weiss.
DAZN’s global ambitions show no signs of slowing. The company recently acquired exclusive rights to the FIFA Club World Cup in a $1 billion deal and finalized the $2.2 billion acquisition of Australia’s pay-TV operator Foxtel from News Corp and Telstra.
Under CEO Shay Segev, DAZN has set an audacious goal to reach one billion users worldwide. The company claims to have 20 million paying subscribers today, with more than 1.2 billion hours streamed annually. Staff numbers surged by 20% last year to over 3,100 employees, reflecting the scale of its operations. Despite mounting losses, DAZN’s leadership remains confident. Segev’s own compensation climbed 25% to $5.2 million, underscoring the company’s belief that profitability lies within reach as it continues to expand globally.
For Blavatnik, who is worth over £25 billion according to The Sunday Times Rich List, DAZN remains both a personal passion and a financial challenge. His willingness to continue funding the platform signals long-term faith in the future of sports streaming, even as the company’s financial statements tell a sobering story.
As traditional broadcasters tighten budgets and streaming competition intensifies, DAZN’s journey embodies both the promise and peril of digital disruption, a high-stakes play by one of the world’s most powerful investors to redefine how billions of fans watch the sports they love.
