DAZN teams up with KDDI for 5G sports experience

Sports streamer DAZN has partnered with Japanese telecommunications company KDDI, to bring customers in Japan an enhanced 5G sport viewing experience.

The deal marks DAZN’s first 5G payment plan integration for customers.

From December 11, au customers with 5G enabled handsets will be able to watch DAZN via higher quality streams, with faster download speeds and latency on live fixtures will be significantly reduced, according to the streamer.

Through the partnership, au customers will receive three months access to DAZN via the Data Max 5G plan, enabling them to watch as much sport as they want with an unlimited data tariff.

DAZN’s rights portfolio in Japan features leading domestic and international football competitions, including J. League, Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, Ligue 1, and the FA Cup, alongside NFL, Formula 1, WTA, FIBA and NPB’s Yomiuri Giants, Hanshin Tigers, Chunichi Dragons, Tokyo Yakult Swallows, DeNA Baystars and Pacific League Baseball.

The agreement expands on DAZN’s existing relationship with KDDI. In February, DAZN and KDDI launched Direct Carrier Billing, enabling au customers to register quickly and easily by paying for DAZN on their mobile phone bill.

“Through this partnership, we are very pleased to be able to provide customers with an unprecedented new sports viewing experience in conjunction with au 5G. We will continue to deliver the appeal of au 5G to all customers through the rich content of DAZN, based on our concept of ‘5G for Everyone’,” said Makoto Takahashi, president, KDDI Corporation.

“Millions of fans across Japan have already changed the way they watch live sport via DAZN. More accessible, more flexible and more affordable than before. The possibilities of 5G and our partnership with KDDI, kick starts some incredible opportunities for us to take that sports-viewing experience to the next level,” said Ben King, chief subscription officer, DAZN.

“Starting today, fans in Japan can enjoy the action from their favourite teams across J. League, NPB, Formula 1 and the Premier League in superb 5G au quality, and faster than ever. And we look forward to working closely with KDDI to explore opportunities that 5G presents to create more interactive and more engaging viewing experiences including realtime data, community, gamification, augmented and virtual reality. To celebrate, we are both giving all KDDI 5G customers DAZN free of charge for the first 3 months.”