In order to access Sky’s new Dazn channel, viewers must sign up for either of two specific Dazn packages, and they must be Sky customers as well. Even then, there is an opt-in process. Sky Stream, Sky Glass and Now TV will not air Joshua vs Franklin, but a late change has seen the fight made available as a Virgin Media pay-per-view.
All of this is to say that Joshua, the most-watched British fighter of his generation, may now be less-watched. The fact that AJ is not in a world-title fight, for the first time in eight years, will surely be a contributing factor to the final figures. For Dazn, it is a matter of navigating this transitory period and negating any drop-off as much as possible.
Joshua vs Usyk 2 did 1.25 million PPV buys on Sky Sports Box Office at a price of £26.95, edging out the figure from the pair’s first fight: 1.23 million at £24.95. Dazn itself claims to have close to 20 million paying subscribers worldwide, with its cheapest package costing £8.33 per month (but with an upfront commitment to 12 months), meaning there is potential for Joshua vs Franklin to reach more viewers than any of the Briton’s previous bouts.
Anthony Joshua (left) faces off with Jermaine Franklin
So, why is the feeling that this potential will not be fulfilled?
One reason is the aforementioned assumption that Dazn is inaccessible – a generally off-base presumption, but one encouraged by the intricacies of Dazn’s new deal with Sky. The ‘casual’ fan is more used to finding Joshua via a remote, not their computer. And while Amazon forced its way into the football broadcasting market by securing rights to select Premier League games, proving the status quo can be disrupted, access to its matches is a benefit of an Amazon Prime subscription – an already popular purchase.
Furthermore, Dazn’s 20 million subscribers represent a distant ceiling, rather than a tangible floor. One of Dazn’s highest-profile boxers, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, did approximately “1.06 million buys worldwide, including PPV and Dazn subscriptions” in his trilogy bout with Gennady Golovkin in September; the Mexican’s fight with Daniel Jacobs in 2019 did 1.2 million. These are more realistic indicators of the kind of number that Joshua could reach.
But while those numbers make up a different audience to the like that AJ has often reached, it is a dedicated audience nonetheless. That will give Hearn and the suits at Dazn hope that the platform’s potential can be fulfilled, though realism would dictate that the process will take time.
Those with a vested interest will hope, in any case, that Joshua can give them a helping hand to speed up that process – whether it be by hook, cross or uppercut.
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A Joshua victory, and an emphatic one at that, is not just crucial for the heavyweight’s career, but also for Dazn.
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