PROGRESS REPORT
IT is four years since American audiences were introduced to DAZN and Eddie Hearn, the streaming service and promoter who planned to conquer the US boxing broadcasting market with a billion-dollar war chest.
DAZN would revolutionise the sport, we were told. Not only that, it would benefit us, boxing’s long-suffering fans. No more pay-per-view! All the best boxers in one place! Low monthly subscription fee!
But the prospect of a streaming service did not immediately appeal to all. In the US, writers scoffed at the prospect of a streaming app rivalling HBO, Fox, ESPN and Showtime as a major boxing broadcaster. DAZN didn’t immediately roll off the tongue, either. One journalist kept calling it ‘dozen’ and during a conversation with Hearn in 2018, my interpretation of how it should be pronounced – ‘dee-eh-zed-en’ – was swiftly corrected. The name’s Zone, Da-Zone.
Inevitably, Hearn’s enthusiasm for his new venture, like every new venture that comes along and threatens the boxing status quo, was greeted with widespread scepticism. US promotional rivals all but joined forces to ensure Hearn’s landing was a bumpy one. Consequently, despite HBO dropping out of the boxing market just five months after DAZN had entered it, Hearn found it exceptionally hard to attract the names he’d promised he could.
But Hearn is fiercely dedicated to levels that few can comprehend, much less match. What he’s achieved since he became a prominent figure in the industry a little
