DAZN is about to become a very familiar name to Cavaliers fans. Apparently, the company hopes that’s only the beginning.
DAZN executive Pete Oliver said the streaming service is interested in eventually pursuing national sports rights in the United States as it expands its footprint through local NBA deals.
“We want to be super relevant here in the U.S.,” Oliver told Sports Media Watch, via Awful Announcing.
The Cavs are among five teams for which DAZN will serve as the exclusive local broadcast partner this season, along with the Pacers, Grizzlies, Timberwolves and Spurs.
The service also has streaming arrangements involving five additional NBA franchises.
For Cleveland fans, the relationship is already significant. DAZN has taken over as the primary home for Cavs broadcasts after the collapse of the regional sports network model that previously carried the games.
But Oliver indicated DAZN views these local agreements as potentially forming the foundation of something much larger.
“For us, it actually makes more sense to build from the ground up with the regional rights,” he said.
Oliver suggested that accumulating enough local rights could eventually give DAZN something resembling a national sports presence even before it acquires a traditional national package.
“If you have enough regional coverage, you have a national feel to you,” he said.
DAZN isn’t promising to throw unlimited money at that pursuit, either. Oliver said the company won’t be “irrational” or spend billions on rights simply to establish itself.
Still, the direction is pretty clear. The Cavs and nine other NBA teams are helping DAZN establish a bigger U.S. foothold now. If that experiment works, the company appears interested in seeing just how much bigger that foothold can become.
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