dazn.com
Other streaming services try to be all things to all people, attempting to appease everyone's needs whether it's price, content type, or geographic coverage.
It's no secret that differentiation is key when it comes to streaming services these days. That's because there are so many of them - many of which can be expensive - when it comes to live sports broadcasts. Some services differentiate themselves by being very specialized in one area, like NHL streaming services or MBA streaming services. Other streaming services try to be more generalized and appeal to a wider range of people, such as NFL streaming services that offer everything from live games to replays and highlights.
Other services, such as streaming platforms, choose to make themselves unique by offering a variety of sports and games. Although these can feel directionless, cumbersome, and hard to navigate, they often provide the best bang for your buck. The most important thing to ask yourself when choosing a sports streaming package is what sport or sports you care about most and watch the most frequently.
If you answer that you are interested in the niche aspect of the NFL's streaming service, it is likely that your interest will be piqued. However, if you find that you are just a sports fanatic in general, with no singular sport held in higher regard than another, it may be best to look at a more generalized service.
Then there are also sports streaming services that exist somewhere in between the most specific and the most general - services that cater to a specific sport, not necessarily a single league or division of it. If you're interested in watching the latest fight, be it in the vein of boxing or Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), you may want to consider a streaming service that calls itself DZN (apparently meant to be pronounced "Da Zone").
If you're a fan of over-the-top sports streaming sites and apps, DZN is one of the best options available. This service offers a monthly or yearly subscription, which eliminates the need to pay for individual PPV broadcasts. It's also priced reasonably compared to other sports streaming services.
History
Perform Group announced its acquisition of exclusive global rights to the Japanese football league, J. League, for an estimated $2 billion. This contract would give Perform exclusive rights for up to 10 years and DAZN (a subsidiary of Perform) would begin broadcasting all matches from all 3 divisions of J. League starting in 2017.
DAZN first launched in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland on August 10th of 2016. The Japanese launch, too, occurred on August 26th of the same year. DAZN continued to grow and expand from there by launching in Canada in July of 2017 and the United States in May of 2018. DAZN's mission was to compete directly with traditional US cable companies when it came to sports broadcasts.
Due to their deals with various sports leagues, DAZN has amassed a large collection of content for combat sports fans. They have committed heavily to catering to combat sports, acquiring rights to many boxing and MMA companies, but they have also set their sights on baseball and NFL Red Zone rights in order to provide more mainstream, family-friendly competitions.
Design
DAZN has an easy-to-use layout with a logical structure. It is very user-friendly, in my opinion, and it won't take much of your time to understand how to use the service no matter what device you are using it on. DAZN's design looks familiar to anyone who has used a movie and TV streaming service in the past - you can browse exclusive commentary-based content and archived matches by scrolling through the portal page, or you can make use of the service's stripped-down and convenient menu bar (located at the top).
From here, you can find three simple options: Home, Schedule, or Sports. The Sports option comes with a handy dropdown menu, allowing you to select and deselect whatever sports you are or are not interested in from the list. This will refresh the content you are to see based on your preferences. Therefore, once you choose your own customized list of sports, when you click on Schedule, the upcoming games and matches that you are shown will reflect that decision.
The clean design of the apps and site make it a great option for streaming services. The black and white background gives way to bright white text, which is designed to be easily navigable. The home page offers up key sections such as "Don't Miss" and "Classic Fights," all of which are tailored to the user's interests. Additionally, DAZN offers features not found on other streaming services, such as DAZN Presents, which offers fight card information for upcoming matches.
Content
A majority of the subscribers to DAZN are interested in its MMA content. This is true for both live events and past fights that have been archived on the service.
That being said, DAZN also features some original programming. For instance, in its daily MLB show, "Change-Up" jumps back and forth between live games, offering commentary and analyses in real-time. MLB fans will also find game highlights that are published every couple of days. Aside from that, most of what you find will be MMA and boxing-related, save for a motley assortment of seemingly randomly broadcast events from more obscure sports around the world like cricket, fishing, darts, gymnastics, and Japanese soccer. That being said, sports fans outside of the US will also be able to enjoy live games from the MLB (due to contractual complications in the US), NFL (due to contractual complications in the US), NBA (due to contractual complications in the US), and NHL (due to contractual complications in the US).
Desktop and Mobile Experience
The DAZN app appears to work smoothly, regardless of the device you are using or the streaming quality you select. Of course, speed depends almost entirely on your internet connection. But granted you have a strong wifi connection, you won't have to worry about anything going wrong on DAZN's end. The service is also available across almost all devices. Enjoy games and fights on your smart TV, smartphone, tablet, computer, or game console for an equally user-friendly, effective, dependable, and intuitive experience.
Pricing and Plans
I have some issues with DAZN. Firstly, it is one of the more expensive sports streaming services on the market. Secondly, it does not offer a free trial period, which may be a smart business move but can bother some consumers.
Suggestions that I have for DAZN
I hope that DAZN expands the breadth of its content in the United States. I understand that these contracts and rights acquisitions can be difficult to land, but it would be great for American viewers to be able to watch more than just MMA, boxing, and MLB highlights. I would also like the price point to go down. At least for the US version, since it offers such an odd slice of sports content.
Conclusion
If you live outside of the United States, there is no question about DAZN. However, if you are an American, you might want to continue looking - unless, of course, you are an MMA and/or boxing fanatic. In that case, DAZN is right up your alley.
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