DAZN Media+ Upfronts: Agencies weigh in on the big rebrand

A new name, a much bigger sports player and a pitch built heavily around data, measurement and technology: Foxtel Media used its 2027 Upfronts to formally introduce the market to DAZN Media+.

The rebrand was only part of the story. 

With a Sports Audience Graph built around six million first-party sports fans, independent cross-media measurement, AI-powered trading, creators, and an expansion into stadium advertising, the business is pitching itself as more than a traditional television sales house. 

But what did the people actually holding the media plans make of it? Mediaweek spoke with some of the industry’s best and brightest to find out what landed, what raised questions, and where they see the real opportunity for advertisers.

READ MORE: Foxtel Media rebrands as DAZN Media+ at 2027 upfronts

READ MORE: Club Kayo gives creators the keys to Fox Sports

Aaron Jansen, Director of Commercial & Media Operations, Bench Media

The substance sat in the data and measurement announcements, not the branding. Sports Audience Graph addresses a gap agencies have flagged for years, and pairing it with AudienceProject for independent cross-media measurement means we should finally get a consistent reach and frequency picture across Kayo, BINGE, Foxtel Go, and linear. The Sales Agent is the most practical announcement for buyers. If pricing and availability become machine-readable, proposal turnaround collapses from days to minutes, and we can model scenarios properly instead of waiting on a revised deck.

The audience graph is the piece I'd want access to first. Six million first-party sports fans, with real viewing and transaction behaviour behind them, is not something you can replicate through third-party targeting.

The rebrand is where I have reservations. DAZN Media+ is not an obvious fit for this market. Clients know Foxtel, Kayo and BINGE. The offering is strong enough to carry it, but the name creates unnecessary friction.

Jay Malig, National Trading Lead, Atomic 212°

Creators and sport are two of today’s most influential cultural forces. As creator influence continues to grow within sports, the new Club Kayo provides a powerful opportunity to capitalise on this trend. By integrating trusted creator voices into the Kayo ecosystem, it combines their authenticity with Kayo’s exclusive rights, expertise and unique broadcast access.

The SureVision partnership is a natural extension of the company’s reach across the Australian sports landscape. A key advantage of DAZN Media+ now is its ability to simplify the fragmented sports advertising market by giving brands a single access point to the sports ecosystem, spanning broadcast advertising, in-program integrations, social media and in-stadium opportunities. Through DAZN Media+, brands can engage sports fans across the two primary viewing environments: on screen and at live events.

As cross-media audience measurement becomes increasingly important for media planning, buying and reporting, the AudienceProject partnership is a strong fit. Providing a consistent view of campaign reach and frequency across DAZN Media+ platforms, it gives media buyers a clearer understanding of total audience delivery across linear and streaming campaigns. This unified measurement approach helps reduce duplication, uncover incremental reach, and build confidence in campaign performance, enabling more effective planning, optimisation, and investment decisions.

DAZN Media+’s Sports Audience Graph is built on the real behaviour of six million first-party sports fans, providing a rich, multi-sport audience dataset. This deeper audience insight helps advertisers move beyond broad messaging and deliver more targeted, relevant campaigns. It provides deeper insight into sports fans’ needs, behaviours and motivations, enabling brands to connect with the right audience through the right message, channel and moment. Greater audience data aligns with advertisers’ growing need for more precise and transparent media buying, enabling them to achieve not just broader reach, but more effective reach.

As a media buyer, I was particularly interested in DAZN Media+’s AI-powered Sales Agent, designed to simplify how advertisers and agencies discover, evaluate, and buy premium video inventory. While keeping human expertise and relationships at the centre of the process, the tool streamlines key stages of the buying journey, from inventory discovery and proposal refinement to deal confirmation and live campaign reporting. Buyers can quickly access information on formats, audiences, pricing and dayparts, while structured negotiations reduce the need for lengthy email exchanges. As media consumption and buying become increasingly fragmented, tools that simplify transactions with key partners can help remove friction and make investment decisions more efficient.

Michael Bass, Chief Commercial Officer, Havas Media and Kaimera

Foxtel Media's evolution into DAZN Media+ comes with a clear statement about where the business sees future growth and where it intends to lead.

DAZN Media+ has put forward one of the most significant visions for sport that we've seen from an Australian media company in years. As an industry, we’ve never questioned sport's ability to attract audiences. The question has always been how to unlock more tangible value from those audiences. The breadth of DAZN’s investment across data, measurement, technology and fan engagement recognises that untapped commercial opportunity in sport and is backed by an aggressive commitment to capturing it.

These announcements address many of the factors that influence investment decisions. Marketers back channels that are easy to understand, easy to buy and easy to justify. The initiatives announced by DAZN Media+ strengthen each of those areas, resulting in a stronger commercial proposition for sport and a more compelling case for brands seeking scaled, accountable growth in an increasingly fragmented media market.