DAZN’s first FIFA World Cup broadcast. Aiming for a new viewing experience through technology

DAZN Japan Investment, the operator of the sports-focused subscription video-on-demand service "DAZN," held a media briefing in Tokyo on Monday, April 20. The company announced its strategy for streaming the 2026 FIFA World Cup (hereinafter referred to as the FIFA World Cup), which will be DAZN’s first-ever broadcast of the tournament. This will mark DAZN’s debut in streaming the FIFA World Cup, and all Japan national team matches will be broadcast free of charge.Additionally, Japan’s matches will be broadcast on terrestrial TV (NHK, Nippon TV Network, and Fuji TV Network).

Innovating the Viewing Experience: "The Technology FIFA World Cup" Where Data and Video Converge

First, plans to enhance the viewing experience were announced, including live streaming of all 104 matches and the organization of large-scale public viewings.

Furthermore, the platform will introduce “multi-angle” viewing, allowing viewers to choose their own perspective. On a four-split screen, viewers can enjoy footage from the player’s viewpoint, the coach’s viewpoint, or a panoramic view of the entire pitch. The platform also plans to introduce “Data-tainment,” which uses AI to display data such as shot speed, distance covered, and header height in real time over the match footage.

Yutaka Sasamoto, CEO of DAZN Japan, stated, “This will be a FIFA World Cup of technology,” aiming to provide a viewing experience that allows fans to actively engage with the matches rather than passively watch them.

Marketing Strategy: “Fan Makes Fan”—From Content Provision to Community Building

Koichi Haruta, Head of Marketing, who took the stage next, defined the core of the strategy for this FIFA World Cup as “Fan Makes Fan.” Rather than prioritizing content consumption (watching), the strategy emphasizes understanding the context and background (learning) and focuses on forming “communities” where fans connect with one another.

The chat feature “FanZone” will be implemented for all live streams. This allows fans not only to communicate with each other but also to connect with commentators and watch party participants. Additionally, the company has introduced “MOMENT BOOSTER,” an AI-powered social media video sharing feature. Viewers can share and spread “videos of moments that thrilled fans”—automatically selected by AI—on social media while watching the match.

Mr. Haruta states that by providing this community, the goal is to engage not only core fans but also casual fans, and to rebuild a sense of “collective excitement” in today’s era of fragmented viewing.

Evolution of the Advertising Business: New Brand Value Created by Shared Experiences and Moments

Yoshinori Kurokawa, Senior Vice President (SVP) of Advertising Media, announced plans to strengthen “Innovation Advertising.”

Utilizing the aforementioned data-entertainment and XR technologies, the company will display logos below the stats board and show animations synchronized with specific “moments” such as goals, substitutions, and VAR reviews. Through a joint production with FIFA, the company says it will be able to achieve a high degree of creative freedom in brand expression that was previously difficult to achieve.

Additionally, the company plans to expand reach beyond the DAZN app through social media integration and introduce new ad formats during commercial breaks.

Mr. Kurokawa stated that the company places the highest priority on demonstrating and visualizing how “high engagement translates into business results,” and that it will promote the visualization of advertising effectiveness by combining viewer behavior data with new formats.

On the 21st, DAZN launched "DAZN SOCCER," an annual plan specializing in soccer content. This limited-time annual plan, available for subscription until August 30, grants access to all soccer content streamed by DAZN.

DAZN aims to establish itself as the go-to platform for the FIFA World Cup through new viewing experiences and advanced marketing and advertising.