DAZN Japan Investment LLC Japan President & Managing Director Shun Nakamura　

Do what you love and keep your passion!

■ Profile

He has over 15 years of business management experience in a wide range of fields, including both overseas and domestic businesses. Prior to joining Perform, he served as President and CEO of a publicly listed company promoting renewable energy. He began his career in Tokyo with Mitsubishi Corporation, then moved to Silicon Valley 11 years later. During his 17 years in the US, he worked for various companies, including Hewlett-Packard.

DAZN is a video streaming service that lets you watch live sports anytime, anywhere. Its president in Japan is Shun Nakamura. After spending his student years in Australia and working for Mitsubishi Corporation and other companies, Nakamura became president of DAZN Japan. We spoke to him about how the service got started, its expansion in Japan, and his ongoing passion for the service.

　Due to my father's work, my family moved to Sydney, Australia when I was in my first year of high school, where I attended school there. I returned to Japan after graduating from the University of Sydney where I studied engineering. I joined Mitsubishi Corporation, a general trading company, as a new graduate. At first, I imagined that since it was a trading company, I would be able to work abroad and travel around the world, but this was completely different, and I gradually began to realize that I would not be able to work the way I had imagined. At that time, I was headhunted by an acquaintance, which led me to quit the company I had worked for for 1 years and relocate to Silicon Valley in the United States.

　After that, I spent 17 years in the US working for companies such as Hewlett-Packard, starting up businesses with colleagues, and doing a variety of other things before returning to Japan and working on business revitalization, etc. One day, my younger brother, who was the general manager of the sports business at an advertising agency, introduced me to DAZN, and although I had never worked in sports before, I decided to take on the job, saying, "I want to try something I have no experience in."

■ Change marketing to meet fan needs

　Preparations for the business itself began in September 2015, but at the time the company name had not yet been decided and the company had not yet been established. At first, no one even knew how to pronounce "DAZN."

　DAZN's greatest strength is that it specializes in sports as a video streaming service, and that fans can choose their own favorite programs. Sports broadcasts are also available on terrestrial and cable TV, but the TV stations choose the programs to air, so viewers cannot choose the games. However, with an online broadcast service like ours, sports fans can choose the games they want to watch from the countless games that are being held. That's a major feature.

　However, with so many different video streaming services already available, it wasn't easy to raise awareness. So initially, we emphasized the fact that "you can watch games anytime, anywhere," in order to let people know about the benefits of being able to watch videos on your smartphone, whether you're on the go or at a bar. However, this promotion gave the wrong impression that "you can only watch on a smartphone or tablet," and as awareness grew, we received more inquiries from people who wanted to watch live sports on a big screen, asking us to make it available on TV as soon as possible. So we changed our marketing to emphasize, "You can watch your favorite live sports on the big screen at home anytime!"

■ The unforgettable cheer of "Thank you, DAZN!"

　I still can't forget something that happened about two years ago at the J.League Awards, an event that recognizes players, managers, clubs, referees, and others who have performed well that season. We were on the field and taking part in the awards ceremony, when a fan from the stands called out, "Thank you, DAZN!" At that moment, I felt strongly that I was glad to be a part of DAZN.

　Our goal for the future is to turn DAZN into a service that people will watch every day. Currently, most people use DAZN to watch live matches, but in the future, we would like to create original content, such as sports-related documentaries and sports news programs, so that more people can experience the DAZN service every day.

■Message

　I hear that in recent years, university students are increasingly choosing stable jobs when choosing a company to work for. However, if they start off thinking, "I want stability," I can't help but wonder, "Is that what makes life interesting?" We spend a huge amount of our lives at work. That's why, from a young age, I want people to be passionate about what they love and what they want to do, without fear of risk or failure. I personally want to work with people who share that same passion.

Student Newspaper April 2021 Special Edition, Nihon University 3rd Year Student, Kaisei Tsujiuchi