Eddie Hearn's Matchroom Sport LEAVE Sky Sports for DAZN after 10 years
Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Sport LEAVE Sky after decade-long boxing partnership and sign ‘seismic’ new five-year TV deal with DAZN… but it does NOT include heavyweight duo Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte
- Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Sport are soon to walk away from Sky Sports
- The companies have worked together in boxing broadcast for over a decade
- Now, Hearn has signed a lucrative five-year deal with DAZN streaming service
- The deal does not include world champion Anthony Joshua and his future fights
Boxing promoter of the stars, Eddie Hearn, has revealed his Matchroom Sport company will be ending its partnership with Sky Sports.
The relationship between the two organisations spans back a decade, but Hearn has now confirmed Matchroom will go into partnership with rival broadcasting giants DAZN.
On Thursday Hearn took to Twitter to announce the huge shake-up, and labeled the moment a ‘monumental day.’
Hearn wrote: ‘Today is a monumental day for our business, our fighters and the sport of boxing in the UK. Thank you for all your support over the years – get ready for one hell of a ride!’
Eddie Hearn has revealed his Matchroom Sport will be ending its partnership with Sky Sports
The new five-year DAZN UK deal has been reported to be worth nine figures and looks set to begin with three weeks of Fight Camp in the Matchroom HQ back garden from July 31st.
In a supplementary Twitter video, Hearn said: ‘After more than 25 years of boxing with Sky Sports, we have made the monumental decision to sign a new, historic, landmark five-year boxing deal with sports streaming giant DAZN in the UK.
‘This means that all our UK shows will now be exclusively live on DAZN, as well all our all shows from across the world.
The deal has been reported to be worth nine figures and looks set to begin with three weeks of Fight Camp in the Matchroom HQ back garden in late July
‘In short: game, changed. For fight fans this means more live events, more value for money, more round the clock story-telling, more innovations and more global events for you to watch from any screen, nearly anywhere in the world.
‘Over the last 10 years we have worked tirelessly to change the face of the sport we love in this country.
‘From empty leisure centres to sold-out arenas around the world, we have continued to push the boundaries to give this sport the attention it deserves.’
The deal however does not include British heavyweight duo Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte.
Heavyweight champion of the world Joshua is soon to find himself at the centre of a huge tug-of-war for his services, given that he will become somewhat of a broadcasting free agent in the summer.
Following his upcoming belts defence against Oleksandr Usyk, which is poised to be finalised within the next week, Joshua will be open to new promotional and broadcasting avenues.
World champions Anthony Joshua is not included in the deal, though Hearn expects their professional relationship to continue throughout the rest of his boxing career
Hearn, however, expects his deal with the champion star to continue, though has also admitted that he is ready for rivals – who already show AJ’s fights outside the UK – to wave their mighty chequebooks too.
The 41-year-old told the Sun: ‘I am absolutely sure that AJ stays with me and there will be an announcement in due course about AJ’s relationship with Matchroom.
‘I know that our relationship ends when AJ hangs up his gloves.
‘In terms of his broadcast deal there is no pushing or guiding of Anthony Joshua to DAZN from us.
‘That is a decision for us, him and his management company 258 and him to look at the market and the opportunities.
‘He is the biggest star in British boxing and potentially world boxing,’ Hearn added.
Share this article
Source: Read Full Article