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Sports media company DAZN has appointed Walker Jacobs as global chief revenue officer and president of DAZN US.
Jacobs arrives from Amazon, where he worked as chief revenue officer of Twitch Advertising and managing director of sports at Amazon Ads. Highlights during his tenure included overseeing sales and marketing for Amazon Prime Video’s sports, including the launch of the National Football League’s (NFL) Thursday Night Football on the streaming platform.
Prior to this, Jacobs was chief operating officer of Fandom and executive vice president and head of Turner Digital at Turner Broadcasting, which is now part of Warner Bros Discovery (WBD).
His move to DAZN comes as the company looks to deepen its relationships with sponsors, brands and the advertising community to maximise the value of its rights portfolio, as well as explore new commercial opportunities and monetisation models for its recently launched free tier.
Jacobs will be tasked with driving this agenda and is also leading Team Whistle, DAZN’s US-based social media content creation and distribution company that was bought by the business in 2023 as part of its acquisition of Eleven. Additionally, as president of DAZN US, Jacobs will lead business development in the market and look for new commercial opportunities for the company to expand its presence in the country.
DAZN has said it is firmly on track to become the ‘global home of sport’ despite its recent accounts showing annual losses of more than US$1 billion during 2022. The company’s chief executive Shay Segev described 2023 as “a year of remarkable progress for DAZN Group”.
Commenting on his appointment, Jacobs said: “DAZN has built an impressive roster of rights around the world, and we have an enormous opportunity to enhance how we partner with brands and advertisers to further drive growth. I am excited to partner with Shay and the team to unlock our full potential, especially as we lean into our free tier of sports programming. I am also incredibly excited to help DAZN grow its presence in the USA and strengthen our offering to US viewers by building strong partnerships with leagues and competitions.”
Appointments
John Miller
President of North America, Adidas
Previously: Senior vice president of wholesale, Puma
Roger Lodewick
Chief executive, Viaplay Netherlands
Previously: President of sport games, ESL FACEIT Group (EFG)
Raghuram Iyer
Chief executive, Indian Olympic Association (IOA)
Note: Iyer has previously served as chief executive of Indian Premier League (IPL) sides Rajasthan Royals, Lucknow Super Giants and Rising Pune Supergiant.
Scott Kaufman-Ross
Executive vice president, media and gaming, National Basketball Association (NBA)
Previously: Senior vice president, head of gaming and new business ventures, NBA
Luke Donaldson
Director of international sales, Chicago Bulls
Previously: Head of global and strategic partnerships, Roc Nation
Craig Woodhouse
Head of communications, Williams Racing
Previously: Director of communications, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS)
Mark Hogan
Director of sales, ATP Media
Previously: Head of media rights and production, The Football Association (FA)
Paul Kingsley
Chief financial officer, Guild Esports
Previously: Chief financial officer, UniDays
Nick Dutton
Group chief operating officer, Fitzdares
Previously: Chief technology officer, Sporting Group
Sue Bird
Chief strategy officer, Deep Blue Sports + Entertainment
Previously: Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) player
Todd Klein
Global brand president, Fila
Previously: President, Fila USA
Nick Fellows
Director, FIS TV, International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS)
Martin Glenn
Chair, Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL)
Previously: Chief executive, The FA
Lee Fitting
Head of media and production, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)
Previously: Vice president of production, ESPN
Nikolaj Nyholm
Chief executive, Astralis
Note: Nyholm replaces Anders Hørsholt who has become a strategic advisor to the executive board at the esports organisation.
Jerome Mazet
General manager, MENA, Professional Fighters League (PFL)
Previously: Head of commercial and marketing, Etihad Arena
Graham Wallace
Chief corporate and financial officer, Iris Sport Media
Previously: Group chief corporate and financial officer, Aser Ventures
Departures
Hans-Joachim Watzke
Chief executive, Borussia Dortmund
Note: Watzke is stepping down from his position at the German soccer giants when his contract expires at the end of 2025.
Mark Dodson
Chief executive, Scottish Rugby
Note: Dodson will step down this summer.
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