Media

DAZN: Live sports at scale

Services Provided

Engineering

Specialisms

Platforms

The Challenge

At the start of our engagement, the race to disrupt the live sports streaming industry was on and our new client was quickly becoming a market leader with rapid growth. Available in several countries, DAZN lets fans watch their sport, “their way” by featuring the widest array of live sports ever offered on one TV service at home "on the go".

The Client

DAZN is Europe's largest digital sports broadcaster and it's the next generation of OTT service for sports.

Client’s Goal

Establish a flexible and scalable application, while also introducing a new developer culture to their team.

The Approach

The initial version of DAZN was built in a monolithic way which presented technical limitations. DAZN product and engineering teams partnered with YLD to embark on developing DAZN 2.0; a flexible and scalable single page application using React.js, Mobx and microservice APIs using Node.js. Early days in the rebuild, YLD engineers and delivery consultants worked closely with DAZN internal peers and stakeholders to help shape a new front-end and back-end microservices architecture, independent of each other and able to offer scalability, resilience and agility. New front-end targets now launch with or without new back-end services, and vice versa. Working as part of a wider delivery programme, we provided delivery and engineering expertise on the design and development of DAZN’s user management and payment systems (subscribe, sign-in and sign-up), integrating with a large number of third party payment providers, having initially prototyped the various sub-systems and refined them to be flexible and scalable within the production environment.

The second half

Adapting to the existing environment at DAZN, we equipped the teams with delivery consultants, bringing strong experience to fully transition DAZN to agile development. We collaborated with teams on-site to establish a delivery roadmap and facilitate different teams and suppliers working together collaboratively. Bridging the gaps between product and technology, we encouraged agile and engineering best practices. DAZN can now rapidly deliver high-quality software, and a business approach that aligns development with customer needs and company goals.

The Deliverables

YLD supported DAZN in the revamp of their platform, focusing on specific areas of their business like acquisition, retention, as well as frontend and backend of the services. We also helped their team to excel in their skills in delivery and development management.

Closing the Engagement

DAZN opened a development centre in Amsterdam during our engagement. YLD helped with all aspects of setting up and managing the new development capability; recruiting, setting up teams and roadmaps, onboarding and upskilling new engineers, mentoring, and creating healthy team dynamics. During frequent travels to meet the teams and face to face knowledge sharing sessions, we fostered a culture of learning for the teams and individuals, and left the teams with the necessary skills and knowledge to continue DAZN’s mission; to revolutionise the way users consume live sports. We thoroughly enjoyed partnering with DAZN and supporting them throughout the engagement.