DAZN is making its latest attempt to break into the U.S. local sports market by acquiring a platform that already powers several regional sports networks.

The streaming service announced an agreement to merge the streaming platform ViewLift into DAZN. ViewLift operates direct-to-consumer streaming services for several different U.S. regional sports networks, including Altitude Sports, Monumental Sports, NESN, Space City Home Network, and Chicago Sports Network.

According to Sports Business Journal, DAZN is continuing to pitch its platform to the 20 teams that just left FanDuel Sports Network.

As part of these pitches, DAZN has offered interested teams three options to join its platform. One, which it is calling “ViewLift Classic,” would be similar to the current ViewLift model, where it operates and monetizes a direct-to-consumer streaming service but does not control local television rights.

Another option would involve both television and streaming rights through DAZN, with teams being paid between $8M and $15M in annual rights fees.

A more intriguing option is a larger streaming RSN, where ViewLift’s current teams would join with the former FanDuel teams to create a larger streaming hub of local sports rights. This is similar to what the NBA has pitched to teams.

According to Sports Business Journal, these rights are coveted by several players in the market. Fubo is reportedly offering rights fees between $8M and $15M, while over-the-air players, including Gray Media, Scripps, and Nexstar, are making offers below $10M. Even the free streaming service Victory+ is making a play for these rights.

This suggests it won’t be easy for this play to work for DAZN, which has long struggled to enter the U.S. market, with several different attempts that have failed to move the needle. In the fall of 2018, the company reached a three-year digital rights agreement with Major League Baseball that included a whiparound show. That deal ended early in 2020, with reporting at the time suggesting that DAZN was unhappy with viewership.

In July 2019, DAZN tried to reach an agreement with Pat McAfee to simulcast The Pat McAfee Show. That too was short-lived, with the two sides parting ways in May 2020.

DAZN has taken a slightly different approach in the U.S. market since 2025, seeking to align itself with more established players. DAZN acquired the exclusive global rights to the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup and reached sublicense agreements with TNT Sports and Univision Deportes in the United States to get matches and its brand in front of more viewers.

In April, DAZN announced another sublicense with TNT Sports to put monthly boxing events that DAZN owns the rights to on regular television in the U.S.

But in the United States, DAZN still lacks the depth of rights that its competitors, like Peacock, Apple, and Prime Video, have, and thus lacks name recognition.

If Prime Video, Peacock, and DAZN are making similarly competitive offers to teams, why would a team go with the streaming service with the fewest other high-tier sports?

On the other hand, if DAZN can secure these local rights, that could go a long way toward changing its fortunes.

But with such tough competition, DAZN will need a lot to go its way for this play to work out.

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