NEWLY APPOINTED DAZN Group Chief Operating Officer and Foxtel Group chairman Patrick Delany has announced that Peter O’Connell will step into the role of CEO of the Foxtel Group, a DAZN company.
Mr O’Connell, who has served as an Australian-based independent Director of the Foxtel Group following its purchase by DAZN in 2025, will immediately take on the role of Group CEO reporting to Mr Delany and the local Board of the Foxtel Group.
In another major update, Mark Frain, the current CEO of DAZN Media+ is being promoted to the newly created role of CEO Streaming and Advertising. Mr Frain will take overall responsibility for driving the advertising side of the business as well as the powerhouse Kayo SPORTS and BINGE subscription business.
Earlier today DAZN Group CEO Shay Segev announced that Mr Delany will move to London before the end of the year where he will take on the role of Group Chief Operating Officer for DAZN, reporting to Mr Segev. As part of his global role with DAZN, Mr Delany will oversee global operations including marketing, content, sports rights, revenue and subscriber growth, content and production and also take on the role of Chairman of each of the local country businesses where DAZN operates, including Australia.
Mr O’Connell, who has extensive experience across digital businesses, currently serves as Chairman of ASX-listed digital company Superloop and Autosports and formerly as founder, CEO and Chairman of telco Amaysim.
A former commercial lawyer and experienced CEO and Board director, including as director of sports and entertainment businesses, Mr O’Connell was a key adviser during Foxtel Group’s recent successful acquisition of the NRL rights which extended Kayo SPORTS and FOXTEL’s NRL partnership through to the end of the 2034 season.
Mr Delany said Foxtel Group was in an incredibly strong financial position and Mr O’Connell’s focus over the next year would be supporting the Executive team and the business in further evolving, including seeking new growth opportunities.
“Peter has agreed to take on the role of CEO of the Australian business where he will support me while guiding the leadership team and providing stability and continuity as well as a renewed focus on new revenue generating opportunities.
“Peter has wide corporate experience as a CEO, successful Founder and Chair and has been a great influence on our business since joining the Australian board last year. He brings a depth of experience and knowledge in advancing consumer businesses and will be a great leader and mentor for senior leaders across our business,” Mr Delany said.
Mr Delany praised the work of Mr Frain over 20 years with Foxtel Group and said he had been given an expanded role following his highly successful stint as CEO of DAZN Media+, creating a marketing and advertising powerhouse for commercial partners.
“Mark has been an exceptional leader for our organisation and done an exceptional job in not only continuing to build the commercial side of DAZN Media+ but has also shown great flair and a natural instinct for disruption in the way he has evolved the business and the product mix to generate more revenue streams. It is an important role and one that reflects the faith we have in Mark’s leadership ability, his knowledge of the Australian media market as well as his ability to drive strong commercial outcomes.
“Mark really knows sport. He knows entertainment and he knows the shows that drive audiences and drive advertising. He has been prepared to continually push into new ground and he will bring new energy to driving the streaming offering and numbers to new heights.”
On his appointment as Group Chief Operating Officer, DAZN, Mr Delany said: “DAZN is an extraordinary global business. I’m incredibly excited to play a wider role in the next phase of growth for the world’s leading sports entertainment platform. We are creating something really special and – after more than 20 years building the Australian Foxtel Group business – I’m looking forward to working with Shay and the team on our vision of making DAZN the home of sport for more than a billion fans around the world.”
Mr O’Connell said: “The Foxtel Group is positioned well for future growth and is in a really strong financial position with real momentum on earnings and subs growth. After being on the Board for the past year I have had a unique opportunity to get across the company’s operations and am looking forward to working closely with Patrick as chairman and Mark in his new role driving the next era of Foxtel’s growth and further building on the strong relationship with our partner sports, distributors and producers. A clear focus will be guiding our leadership team through a new phase while also seeking new organic and inorganic growth opportunities.”
Mr Frain said: “Having been with the company for 20 years and as CEO of DAZN Media+ (formerly Foxtel Media) for 20 years, I am very familiar with the streaming side of the business and how important our offering is for both streaming customers and advertisers. I am really excited by the opportunity I now have to drive further growth in Kayo SPORTS and BINGE as well as guiding the expansion and enhancement of DAZN Media+ that we announced at our recent Upfronts.
“This is the best media company in the country and with all the major sporting rights and Hollywood studio rights locked down, we have a great opportunity to focus on taking growth to a whole new level and I will be working closely with Peter to achieve that.”
Mr Delany said other changes included:
- Hilary Perchard, the current CEO of Kayo SPORTS, BINGE and FOXTEL, after living here in Australia for six years, has decided to move back closer to home where he will undertake a consulting role with DAZN in Europe.
- Julian Ogrin, who oversaw the completion of the successful integration of the Kayo SPORTS and BINGE apps onto the DAZN platform, finishes up with the company after eight years to focus on new entrepreneurial ventures.
“We are really grateful to Julian Ogrin for the impact he has had on our business over the last eight years and in the job he did in establishing the Kayo SPORTS and BINGE businesses and – earlier this year transitioning them to the DAZN platform.
“We are also very grateful to Hilary Perchard for his relentless commitment to building out the streaming businesses and ensuring Foxtel remains such a strong offering and he will continue to consult to me and provide his knowledge in supporting DAZN in Europe.”
The appointments take place immediately.