Their subscription goal wasn’t even close to actually doing anything though they peaked at 1 million but went down the next month. ESPN+ is the model look at how mean subscribers they have. You need more diverse content to do anything. You need a network to put on fight to draw attention to your app. Let’s say they put in fights in that network monthly and draw them toward the app for the bigger fights, that would have been huge for them. The app needs promotion in the worst way. You can’t just market to a small part of your fan base, have to bring in older people and causals and an app ain’t doing it. Even a partnership with Facebook or Twitter or Instagram would have done them some good.
No doubt DAZN is in a tricky situation because they are a new competitor. Even though they were basically entering a young market (standalone, subscription based streaming app for sports) they definitely face stiff resistance from established competitors who have decades worth of content, like ESPN.
With that being said, competition isn't a bad thing at all. DAZN secured deals with Golden Boy and Matchroom, and they even scored broadcasting rights with the MLB, and that all puts pressure on the competitors real quick.
If DAZN wanted to establish itself as legitimate service, there is no reason why they should be begging other companies for exposure. Netflix isn't out here putting their originals on Fox; DAZN shouldn't be giving content to Showtime. It doesn't make business sense.
All that being said, DAZN's vision is ambitious, and it's not like they're guaranteed to succeed. What you're saying is right -- they need to market themselves better and get more viewers. I just don't think that going to other companies makes a lot of sense.