Billionaire’s Soccer Shakeup Threatens TV’s Reign

Some top soccer games set to become online only in Germany
A milestone for billionaire Blavatnik’s web sports venture

Lionel Messi takes a free kick during the Spanish league football match FC Barcelona vs Athletic Club Bilbao at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona on Jan. 17, 2016.
Photographer: Josep Lago/AFP/Getty Images

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Before it’s here, it’s on the Bloomberg Terminal

By Stefan Nicola, Tariq Panja and Joe Mayes

May 19, 2017 at 9:29 AM EDT

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Billionaire Len Blavatnik’s DAZN is set to take a big step toward its goal of becoming the Netflix of sports, with the online-TV service near picking off a chunk of Champions League soccer rights in Germany that had previously been on traditional television.

DAZN is closing in on exclusive rights to carry some of the games from the world’s most-popular club soccer tournament alongside bigger rival Sky Plc, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named because no decision has been announced. It would be the first time in Europe that viewers could watch some Champions League games only over the internet.

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