UK Edition 
Blavatnik's Perform Group rebuffs tech investors to build 'Netflix for sport'
Perform Group, the sports media company owned by the billionaire Len Blavatnik, has rebuffed a string of approaches from US tech giants and media powerhouses to go it alone in an attempt to become “Netflix for sport”.
The former FTSE 250 company, which Mr Blavatnik’s Access Industries holding company took private two years ago, recently held discussions with its advisers Morgan Stanley and big names such as Amazon, Facebook and YouTube over potential equity investment, according to City sources.
More traditional media groups were also involved in the discussions but Access, which also owns the major record label Warner Music and a stake in music-streaming service Spotify, has opted to bankroll Perform’s ambitious expansion plans itself.
Interest in Perform has increased in recent months as the company launches its new online sport-streaming service, DAZN, around the world.
Traditional and digital media companies are exploring how to deliver sport, a traditional keystone of premium pay-TV packages, over the internet.
Perform introduced the DAZN brand in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, earlier this month, offering live and on-demand coverage of basketball, American football, rugby and ice hockey, among other sports for €9.99 (£8.65) a month.
Perform also recently bolstered its German business by acquiring rights to highlights clips of the Bundesliga. It is planning to challenge Sky, which has struggled to convince German consumers to pay for satellite television.
DAZN is now poised for launch in Japan this week, where it has bought the rights to live coverage of top flight J-League football for around £1.5bn over 10 years.
Perform borrowed £175m in the bond market in last year to fund its its first four launches and is planning four more each year, requiring further funding from Access.
The company is understood to have no plans to bring its streaming service to the UK, however, because of the prohibitive cost of sports rights. The fierce rivalry between BT and Sky has pushed prices far above international norms.