The best free trial in all of streaming is no more.
DAZN, the new sports streaming service that’s home to some of the world’s biggest boxing stars, announced a major change in its pricing structure today. Effective Monday, March 25, DAZN will cost $19.99 per month, up from just $9.99 per month, or $99 annually. While the monthly rate may have doubled, users will actually be saving money if they’re willing to commit to a full year of service. Current subscribers and those who sign up before Monday will be able to maintain their current rates.
Buried in the announcement, however, was the fact that DAZN will no longer offer a free one-month trial.
That deal always seemed too good to be true, allowing users to watch pay-per-view-worthy fights by the likes of Canelo Alvarez and Anthony Joshua without spending a dime. In fact, with the current terms in place, you’d be able to stream DAZN’s two biggest events of the year—Alvarez vs Daniel Jacobs on May 4 and Joshua vs Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller on June 1—in the same free trial. Factor in the fact that most people have multiple credit cards, or at least some friends who might not have signed up yet, and it’s no wonder DAZN needed to make a change.
There are two ways you can interpret the new pricing structure, and both may be true. DAZN has invested heavily in top-tier talent. Its five-year, 11-fight deal with Alvarez is for $365 million, and earlier this month, the service landed Gennady “GGG” Golovkin for a massive six-fight deal. Add in Joshua’s contract and a three-year deal with MLB for an offering that’s been likened to NFL RedZone for baseball, and the price hike makes a lot more sense.
Alternatively, DAZN may simply feel confident enough about its product and weight in the marketplace to do away with the free trial and increase rates. That ESPN+, the network’s new subscription service, costs just $4.99 per month is almost irrelevant. While ESPN+ boasts Top Rank Boxing, DAZN has three of the biggest boxers in the world in its corner, and it plans to broadcast more than 100 fights per year. There’s room for both to succeed in the marketplace.
If you want to try DAZN, there’s still time. You can sign up for a free one-month trial before Monday and lock-in the $9.99 per month rate.
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