As DAZN looks to accelerate its expansion into the U.S., the global sports streamer will acquire EverPass Media.
The deal with EverPass, which was founded in 2023 by the NFL’s 32 Equity investment arm and RedBird Capital Partners, will combine its commercial sports distribution capabilities in the U.S. with DAZN’s global scale, premium sports content and international commercial distribution and technology capabilities.
EverPass will be rebranded and serve as the technology foundation for DAZN for Business, a dedicated media platform serving bars, restaurants, hotels, and other commercial venues across the world.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
EverPass holds the exclusive commercial distribution rights for the NFL Sunday Ticket, which includes every live out-of-market Sunday regular-season afternoon NFL game.
In addition to Sunday Ticket and other NFL content, it also offers commercial venues access to programming from leading sports leagues and competitions, including the English Premier League, UEFA Champions League, MLB, NBA, WNBA, NWSL, NASCAR, PGA TOUR, MLS, Formula 1, college football and basketball. Other U.S. sports streaming content partnerships include Top Rank Boxing and Premiere Boxing Champions.
In July, EverPass struck an agreement with DirecTV to distribute Sunday Ticket to satellite and streaming customers. It also has distribution partnerships with Peacock, Netflix, Paramount and Apple as well as YES Network and Chicago Sports Network.
“EverPass Media gives us a proven commercial distribution platform, deep relationships across U.S. venues, and an attractive portfolio of premium rights that perfectly complements our growing U.S. business. DAZN can now serve every type of customer in the U.S. – from individual sports fans using the DAZN app to commercial venues looking to provide the best possible viewing experience for their customers,” DAZN Group CEO Shay Segev said in a statement. “We are in a strong position to accelerate our vision and play an increasingly meaningful role in the U.S. sportsmarket.”
Existing EverPass customers will continue to receive service and support as usual, with no interruption to their current service as a result of the acquisition.
Under the terms of the deal, EverPass CEO Alex Kaplan will continue to lead the business and take on a larger role within DAZN. RedBird Capital Partners, 32 Equity and TKO Group Holdings will also become minority shareholders in DAZN.
“We are excited to expand our partnership with DAZN through this acquisition and continue to work with EverPass and DAZN to deliver the best NFLST experience to the commercial marketplace,” NFL Media Distribution Executive Vice President Hans Schroeder said. “Together, we will continue to expand reach for commercial NFL Sunday Ticket and deepen engagement in a key segment where fans gather for NFL football.”
“RedBird and 32 Equity founded EverPass as sports content continues to move to streaming while many businesses remain tied to legacy distribution. EverPass delivers a purpose-built streaming platform which will help anchor DAZN’s commercial business and US expansion,” RedBird Founder and Managing Partner Gerry Cardinale added. “We’re looking forward to working closely with DAZN in this next phase to scale the EverPass business globally.”
