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How gaming can help sports and TV reach the next generation: DAZN co-founder James Rushton

DAZN co-founder James Rushton says sports and broadcasters need to turn to video games to reach young fans and should also consider forming their own betting companies.

James Rushton, co-founder of global sports streaming business DAZN. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Geraghty
James Rushton, co-founder of global sports streaming business DAZN. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Geraghty

Big sports and television networks or streaming services could form joint ventures to broadcast directly to consumers and also should consider forming their own betting companies, according to a prominent global sports telecasting founder.

James Rushton, who co-founded streaming giant DAZN, also says sports have to make a bigger effort to reach younger audiences on popular gaming platforms like Roblox, Fortnite and Minecraft or face the prospect of the younger generation not having a keen interest in their competitions.

Rushton — who has recently moved back to Melbourne seven years after helping launch DAZN and then gaining big broadcasting rights such as boxing in North America and soccer in Germany, Spain and Japan — played down the notion of sports launching their own channels.

But he said he can see a future with a “hybrid” model where sports and broadcasters share profits in years to come after current broadcast deals expire.

“You’re getting to the point now where, for example, the sports like the AFL have their own channels on Foxtel (called Fox Footy) and so I wouldn’t be surprised if the next conversation they spin out a separate company and a business like Fox could own 51 per cent and a sport like AFL could own 49 per cent and there’s a more equitable share of the upside going forward,” Rushton told The Australian.

“You could include the digital rights, domestic and international. Whether [the broadcaster] wants to do that remains to be seen. But I could see that as a more happy medium than potentially and AFL or NRL going their own path. It could be more of a happy medium that way.”

Rushton will appear on a panel at this week’s SportNXT conference in Melbourne, which also includes high-profile sports executives such as NFL boss Roger Goodell, Tesla chair Robyn Denholm and global Grand Prix president Stefano Domenicali.

DAZN was launched out of the then Perform Group in 2016 by Rushton and other Perform executives. It has been described as the Netflix for sport and it has gained the rights to the Serie A soccer competition in Italy, Spanish soccer rights, and boxing in the UK and US.

Rushton’s family is now based in Melbourne, where he has also been investing in sports-related start-ups and last year joined tech entrepreneur Matt Berriman’s $50m RealVC fund and a rejected bid to buy out the Super Netball competition.

He said one big challenge for sports and broadcasters is to engage properly with the next generation of players and fans at a time when the internet and streaming services and other online platforms are ubiquitous.

Rushton suggests that the sports more closely pursue opportunities with gaming platforms.

“The challenge is that the AFL and NRL do a great job with their grassroots programs like Auskick and so on, but kids spend eight hours a week on their gaming [platform] so how do you play there? I do think that is where you will see a great change,” he says.

“I don’t think there are seven, eight, nine-year olds not knowing what AFL is – the challenge is, are AFL interacting with seven, eight, nine-year olds as they were 10-15 years ago and are they pulling them through the funnel when they convert them to a commercially active fan?”

“What you need to do is create membership packages and services within these [gaming] environments. That doesn’t have to include media rights, but going forward it could.”

Rushton forecasts every major rights holder and sports having an integrated strategy to “drive value” from the gaming platforms.

“One of the things that everyone forgets about these platforms is that they are highly transactional. The interesting thing is that they are a generation of kids that are absolutely comfortable micro-transacting – mainly because they’re using their parents’ credit cards – but they are doing it way more than previous generations.

“So you could do all sorts of things with that. So if you’re a Hawthorn fan you should be able to barrack for the Hawks through these platforms. You should be able to buy a [former player] Jarryd Roughead avatar and then do whatever you do on that. That could have an impact on media rights eventually.”

DAZN has also recently launched its own betting business and can also foresee an opportunity for sports themselves to potentially launch their own bookmaking services in the future, potentially given crackdowns on advertising.

“There could be a mechanic where you either subscribe to watch a sport on a pay per view basis, or also if you’re a punter [placing a bet on a sport] and you get access that way.

“This is just me spitballing a somewhat controversial view. But why doesn’t an NRL or AFL become bookmakers? You could put tight controls and you onshore the revenue, put higher bars and restrictions around problem gambling and you could be innovative to create a more innovative viewing experience too.

“Having a punt adds value to a sports fans’ experience. You have to have an integrated and smarter approach. It is a really interesting space.”

John Stensholt
John StensholtThe Richest 250 Editor

John Stensholt joined The Australian in July 2018. He writes about Australia’s most successful and wealthy entrepreneurs, and the business of sport.Previously John worked at The Australian Financial Review and BRW, editing the BRW Rich List. He has won Citi Journalism and Australian Sports Commission awards for his corporate and sports business coverage. He won the Keith McDonald Award for Business Journalist of the Year in the 2020 News Awards.

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Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/companies/how-gaming-can-help-sports-and-tv-reach-the-next-generation-dazn-cofounder-james-rushton/news-story/6758409d97b6e2f37195522475951272