Australia's sports and broadcasting industries - not to mention its living rooms - are in for a massive shakeup with the sale of Foxtel Group to European sports streaming giant DAZN.
News Corp and Telstra announced the $3.4 billion deal on Monday that includes the Kayo Sports and Binge streaming services and Hubbl streaming device business.
Andy Hoad, general manager of content and broadcast for Entain Australia and New Zealand - the owner of Neds and Ladbrokes - said it was a seismic day for Australian sport and broadcasting.
"There aren't enough characters here to capture the enormity," he tweeted, speculating that Kayo and Fox Sports will be rebranded under the DAZN banner.
"And in almost the click of a finger, a generation of broadcasting history will be gone from our screen," he wrote.
Peter Fairbairn, head of commercial and content at Queensland Rugby Union, called it a landmark.
"We’ve always looked at streamers as a white knight to come and add tension/value to a code’s broadcast negotiations, but having a global giant buying FOXTEL changes the entire game with the link to major news outlets now redundant," he posted.
DAZN chief executive Shay Segev said the company was thrilled to enter the Australian market.
“Australians watch more sport than any other country in the world, which makes this deal an incredibly exciting opportunity for DAZN to enter a key market, marking another step in our long-term strategy to become the global home of sport."
DANZ boasts 300 million global subscribers and plans to export Australia's most popular sports to markets worldwide, as it does with American football.
It holds NFL streaming rights everywhere outside China and the US and broadcasts in five languages.
The acquisition, expected to complete next year, should also mean more international sports for Foxtel and Kayo subscribers.
DAZN - pronounced "da-zone" - holds streaming rights to dozens of sports, from the World Snooker Championship to Japanese baseball to the X Games. It streams over 90,000 live events annually.
News Corp chief executive Robert Thomson called the agreement "a victory for News Corp shareholders, DAZN and sports fans in Australia and around the world."
"We believe DAZN is the right owner to take the business to the next level with their technological capabilities, global footprint and compelling sports rights," he added.
News Corp will receive a six per cent minority interest in DAZN and appoint a seat on its board.
As 35 per cent owners of Foxtel, Telstra will get three per cent of the London-based sports service backed by British-Ukranian billionaire Len Blavatnik.
News Corp will also receive $578 million cash for outstanding loans to Foxtel Group, while Telstra will get $128 million.
The transaction values Foxtel Group at $3.4 billion, including debt.
Sky News Australia is not part of Foxtel Group or the sale but the deal does include Fox Sports, Australia's largest sports production company, which merged with Foxtel Group in 2017.
News Corp financials show Kayo and Binge have been growing despite recent price increases, while Foxtel's broadcast subscribers have fallen.
Kayo and Binge both had around 1.5 million paid subscribers as of October, while Foxtel Now had 131,000.
Foxtel had 1.2 million residential broadcast subscribers, down from 1.3 million a year ago, and 237,000 commercial subscribers.
Overall Foxtel Group had 4.6 million paid subscribers, up one per cent from a year ago.
It holds rights to AFL, NRL and cricket among other Australian sports.
Mr Thomson said the transaction would allow News Corp to focus on its Dow Jones unit, digital real estate and book publishing.
It'll also have exposure to DAZN, a privately owned company that generated $3.2 billion in revenue in 2023, a figure DAZN says has grown 50 per cent annually since 2020.
The group was founded in 2016 and has 3000 employees.
Foxtel Group will continue to be led by local boss Patrick Delany and maintain headquarters in Sydney.
