Dazn's 'ties' with Israel: a Jewish CEO, but no connection with Netanyahu

Dazn began broadcasting soccer in Spain in 2019, but it was in 2022 when Movistar and Dazn paid €1.194 billion for the rights to broadcast La Liga for five years, that is, until 2027. However, the relevance of this channel goes much further; in fact, this summer they broadcast the desired Club World Cup.

In Spain, the leading sports streaming platform has Oscar Vilda, former leader of Finetwork, as CEO of Dazn Spain and Portugal. However, at a time when everything related to Israel is under scrutiny, Dazn has an Israeli CEO named Shay Segev. However, Dazn explains that "Segev has no kind of relationship with Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister."

Moreover, Dazn's owner is a Soviet Ukrainian by birth. Leonard "Len" Blavatnik, raised in a Jewish family, owns the British OTT (over-the-top media services) with American capital through Access Industries Group, founded in 1986. At just 21 years old, Blavatnik and his family were stripped of their Soviet citizenship and fled the country. Today, Dazn's owner has been a U.S. citizen for more than 40 years and a British citizen for more than 21 years.

Dazn and its "link" with Israel

Shay Segev joined Dazn in 2021 to be CEO alongside James Rushton, but in January 2022 it was decided that the Israeli would lead the OTT. Segev's incorporation was due to his extensive experience in the sector, not to a possible link with the Israeli government.

Meanwhile, local media point out that there is a friendship between owner Len Blavatnik and Netanyahu. However, Dazn has contacted elcierredigital.com to categorically deny these claims. Access Industries, Dazn's owner's company, states that Blavatnik "has no relationship with the prime minister. They haven't been in contact for many years, they don't have close ties, and they're not friends."

In July 2024, several Israelis held a demonstration in front of the Tate Modern art gallery in London, which is owned by Blavatnik. The protest was motivated by his alleged involvement in "the cancellation of a news program on the Israeli Channel 13 that was critical of Netanyahu." It should be noted that the Ukrainian was the majority shareholder of Israel's Channel 13 since 2019. Independent Israeli media claim that "the prime minister's other war is the control of the country's media to silence the voices that expose him."

Regarding what happened with Channel 13, Access Industries states that "he had nothing to do with the cancellation of the aforementioned Raviv Drucker news program, who continues to work for the channel."

Who is Leonard Blavatnik

Len Blavatnik is the third richest man in the United Kingdom with £25.73 billion. He began to build his fortune under the shadow of former Russian president Boris Yeltsin. He did so with the privatization of aluminum and oil from the USSR.

However, with Putin's arrival to power, he decided to distance himself, to the point of selling his businesses in Russia in 2013.

It was in 2011 when he took one of the biggest steps of his life after acquiring the record label Warner Music for about €3 billion. Only nine years later, he took Warner public for four times its value.

Moreover, he has been a knight of Queen Elizabeth II since 2017. The Ukrainian millionaire has made several donations as a show of his philanthropy. Notably, he made a donation to Oxford through the Blavatnik Family Foundation, valued at $75 million. In addition, according to El Economista,he made donations to Barack Obama and to Donald Trump.

Shay Segev's career

Shay Segev has an extensive career. He graduated in applied sciences from Tel Aviv University and began working as CEO at Videobet, a company dedicated to the development of server-based gambling games.

After this, he went to the parent company, Playtech, to be CEO. This company also offers software related to gambling. Until he arrived at Dazn, he remained linked to the world of betting, but at Entain, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is part of the FTSE 100 index. It owns brands such as bwin, Coral, Ladbrokes, PartyPoker, and Sportingbet.