DAZN Builds Regional Footprint as Amazon Swings Big - Amoh Sports Media | A Column by Nana Kofi Amoh

Nana Kofi Amoh

Nov 20263 min read

Editor's Note

Amoh Sports Media is a syndicated column by Nana Kofi Amoh — creator of Amoh Sports Media and sports media analyst tracking the business of live broadcasting. This piece maps the latest land grab across regional sports: DAZN capturing one-third of the NBA through direct deals with contenders like the Spurs and Cavaliers, Amazon Prime Video stepping in to secure six former Victory+ and FanDuel NHL teams, and how fragmented franchise-by-franchise deals threaten Adam Silver's vision of a single, centralized streaming home.

Nine professional franchises have secured new local broadcast homes ahead of their 2026–2027 seasons.

DAZN Claims One-Third of the NBA

As DAZN continues to establish its dominance across the global sport ecosystem, they are also doing the same in the regional sports ecosystem. The defending Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Orlando Magic have all reached streaming agreements with DAZN as their local exclusive broadcast partner. They now join the Washington Wizards via Monumental Sports Network, Indiana Pacers, Minnesota Timberwolves, as well as the Knicks and Nets through YES and MSG Networks as teams that fans are able to access local broadcasts ahead of the 2026–2027 NBA season. As it stands currently, DAZN has about a third of the NBA under its umbrella leading to potentially more agreements prior to the start of the season.

Prime Video Secures Six NHL Franchises

On the other hand, Amazon Prime Video made their presence known in the local sports streaming sweepstakes on the NHL side of the house. The defending Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes, Anaheim Ducks, Columbus Blue Jackets, Dallas Stars, Minnesota Wild, and St. Louis Blues will now have their games streaming on Prime Video as the exclusive local streaming home for these NHL teams.

The Collapse of Victory+

With Victory+ ceasing operations after just two years, that left the Anaheim Ducks and Dallas Stars up for grabs, and as a result, are two of the six teams that were placed under the Prime Video umbrella. Also, the Texas Rangers, the only MLB team on Victory+, left to launch BZZR as their streaming product for Rangers Sports Network.

Just last month, these same six teams were intended to have their games broadcast in-house by the league. But now, they join the Seattle Kraken as teams that will have their local games distributed across respective markets on any device with more agreements to be closed, according to the official Amazon MGM Studios announcement. The NHL and Prime Video have established key agreements earlier in the year in Canada for 12 years to broadcast Wednesday night nationally televised games north of the border so it will be a matter of time if there are more agreements in progress for NHL teams in the states.

Centralized Hubs vs. Subscription Fatigue

As we can see, the local sports streaming wars are heating up. It is worth noting that NBA commissioner Adam Silver in July envisioned that YouTube TV would be the exclusive home for all 29 NBA teams in the US for the 2027–2028 season as he is pushing for a platform to have the league be in a centralized local broadcast streaming service (right forward thinking). But with teams inking agreements with DAZN as their streaming partner, those plans may need to be re-negotiated. In addition, teams like the Oklahoma City Thunder, Milwaukee Bucks, Charlotte Hornets and Atlanta Hawks have agreements with their local TV stations to provide live, in-game telecasts ahead of the 2026–2027 season with hopes for streaming options in the near future.

Having a centralized hub for all teams to be on helps fans and viewers alike easily navigate the season rather than having five different subscriptions just to watch one team.

By the looks of it, DAZN is projected to be the centralized hub for regional sports teams across the MLB, NBA, and NHL long term as their partnership with ViewLift addresses this concern. But unless other streaming platforms like Netflix, Peacock, YouTube TV, and Prime Video place higher bids for local team broadcast and streaming rights that these leagues can entertain, we may have a different conversation.