According to John Ourand’s eblast newsletter on Wednesday, ESPN and DAZN remain the top-grossing sports apps worldwide. The key difference between the two apps is that 99% of ESPN’s revenue is from the U.S. while DAZN’s only receives 27% from the U.S.
Ourand cites data from Sensor Tower which notes that ESPN has around $9.4 million in user spending which is 7x growth from last July. DAZN nearly had $8.8 million representing 7.5x growth.
DAZN came onto the market in the U.S. this past September while ESPN+ emerged in the spring of 2018. DAZN’s growth centers around its boxing offerings in addition to some Bellator-exclusive coverage as well as Combates Americas. ESPN’s digital platform includes a vast amount of content including Top Rank, UFC and PFL.
Payout Perspective:
The obvious takeaway here is that DAZN is still establishing itself in the U.S. market. One might deduce that its key signings of Canelo Alvarez, GGG and Anthony Joshua will help its subscription base. Alternatively, it signed a deal with MLB with moderate success. One might expect DAZN catching up with ESPN in user spending if it is able to lockdown key fights for the platform. Notably, it fared well when Canelo Alarez faced Daniel Jacobs this past spring with so many new subscriptions and viewers. Alternatively, ESPN may be looking into international expansion. With most of its revenue generated from the U.S. market, it might be a time to look into expansion.
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