DAZN Boost Portfolio With Acquisition
Sports entertainment platform DAZN has completed the acquisition of ata football.
ata, which is backed by the Miami-based sports investment firm 777 Partners, describes itself as a ‘platform that brings together premium live and curated women’s football content and connects it to fans and players of the game from broadcast distribution through to direct engagement with the grassroots.’
Founded by Esmeralda Negron and Hannah Brown in 2020, ata football has hosted 170+ women’s football matches to date, as well as highlights, premium content partnerships and instructional videos featuring elite female players.
The price that DAZN was paying for its latest acquisition was unclear, although Sky News claims that one insider described it as a ‘nominal sum’.
The move highlights DAZN’s continued investment into women’s football, which includes its deal with YouTube to broadcast the Women’s UEFA Champions League of its platform.
Shay Segev, Chief Executive Officer for DAZN Group, said, “DAZN and ata football share the same view when it comes to women’s football, the strength of game lies in its participants, fans and distinct appeal. By harnessing these characteristics, we believe that DAZN can build on the foundations our investment in the women’s game has delivered so far.
“The progress that has been made in creating visibility for competitions like the UWCL, LigaF, Frauen Bundesliga amongst others, has seen value created in the whole ecosystem. More viewers, higher attendances and better sponsorship deals. With Esmeralda and Hannah (co-founders of ata) joining the team at DAZN to establish a women’s sport business unit, we are confident that DAZN will keep setting the pace in this area of huge potential, as well as establishing even better and greater links with the communities that are driving the women’s game on to ever-increasing heights.”
Esmeralda Negron and Hannah Brown, ata football co-founders, added, “Three years ago we recognised there was significant opportunity for the growth in audience and engagement in the women’s professional game, and also the real near-term challenges to achieve that.
“Over a million young girls play grassroots football in the US alone and are largely unconnected to the professional women’s game. Over the last few years, we’ve witnessed the rise of women’s football in the storied clubs of Europe, significant investment, and development of leagues across all markets, exponential growth of national team football and advocacy across the landscape. Now is
the time to build the product, partnerships, and experiences to fuel the women’s football ecosystem and become the global community for fans and players of the game.
“We would like to thank 777 Partners who invested in us from launch for their belief in our vision and absolute commitment to ata football. This acquisition by DAZN to combine our assets and capabilities presents an extraordinary opportunity to build a truly global women’s football business; we can’t wait to get going.”
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