In a significant shift at the helm of the sports streaming giant DAZN Group, John Skipper has announced his resignation from his position as Chairman of the Board. The transition marks a new chapter for DAZN as former Disney executive Kevin Mayer steps in to take over the chairmanship. While relinquishing his chairman duties, Skipper will not be entirely departing from DAZN; he is set to remain on the Board of Directors and take on the role of strategic advisor, ensuring a continuity of vision and expertise. Furthermore, in a move signaling DAZN’s continued investment in innovative content, Skipper will also collaborate with Meadowlark Media, a nascent content company that DAZN intends to support and partner with for future programming ventures.
John Skipper’s tenure as Chairman has been marked by a period of substantial growth and expansion for DAZN. Under his leadership, the streaming service successfully secured rights to a vast portfolio of premier sports leagues and competitions worldwide. This aggressive acquisition of sports rights fueled a dramatic increase in both subscriptions and revenue, establishing DAZN as a major player in the global sports broadcasting landscape. Perhaps most notably, Skipper oversaw the platform’s ambitious global expansion, launching DAZN in over 200 countries and territories, a testament to his strategic vision and execution capabilities. Reflecting on his time at DAZN, Skipper stated, “I’m incredibly proud of what the team has accomplished over the past several years. We’ve secured rights to the world’s premier sports leagues, dramatically increased subscriptions and revenues, and launched our platform in more than 200 countries and territories. It’s the ideal moment to transition the company into its next phase of growth.”
The incoming Chairman, Kevin Mayer, brings a wealth of experience from his distinguished career at The Walt Disney Company. Having worked alongside John Skipper for over two decades at Disney, Mayer is intimately familiar with Skipper’s leadership style and the dynamics of the media industry. His appointment is seen as a strategic move to leverage his expertise in steering DAZN into its next phase of development and global dominance. Mayer expressed his enthusiasm for his new role, stating, “As Chairman, I’m looking forward to partnering with the management team and my fellow directors to help DAZN build on its impressive track record of success in developing a truly global sports platform. Since I began working with Access Industries last year, I’ve been impressed with DAZN’s ambitions and ability to quickly grow from a new entrant to an important player in key markets throughout the world. I look forward to guiding DAZN’s strategic development into its next chapter.”
The leadership transition at DAZN is further reinforced by recent changes within the executive team. James Rushton and Shay Segev have been appointed as co-CEOs, a move designed to deepen the executive team’s collective expertise and provide a robust leadership structure for the company’s continued growth. Len Blavatnik, Chairman of Access Industries, DAZN Group’s majority investor, emphasized the strategic importance of these changes. “As the world of sports and media continues to transform, DAZN Group remains a key holding within the Access portfolio,” Blavatnik commented. “A seamless transition from John to Kevin and the recent move to deepen the executive team’s expertise with co-CEOs James Rushton and Shay Segev will accelerate the company’s momentum.” With John Skipper remaining as strategic advisor, and Kevin Mayer stepping into the Chairman role, alongside a strengthened executive team, DAZN appears poised to continue its trajectory as a leading force in the evolving world of sports media and streaming.
