Ronaldo scores hat-trick of Dazn shows

Global sports streamer Dazn has agreed a development deal with Brazilian football legend Ronaldo for three factual series, with the first leading its slate for 2021.

El Presidente

The first project with Ronaldo, regarded as one of the best strikers of all time, is El Presidente, which focuses on the former Real Madrid star’s current position as president and majority shareholder of fellow top-flight Spanish club Real Valladolid.

The six-part series will launch on Dazn on May 20, produced by Spanish football specialist Zoom Sport and Dazn.

As well as the Ronaldo project, Dazn will stream La Guerra, a feature documentary about the rivalry between boxers Cesar Chavez and Oscar De La Hoya in the 1990s.

The doc is directed by Eva Longoria (Desperate Housewives), whose UnbeliEVAble Entertainment label produces. Exec produced by Dazn’s Deirdre Fenton and Bernardo Ruiz, the film will be available globally on Dazn in the autumn.

Modern-day boxer Canelo Alvarez also gets the documentary treatment, with a one-off titled Canelo: The Greatest Athlete You’ve Never Seen. Narrated by Idris Elba, the show will air on UK pubcaster BBC1 on May 5, ahead of Canelo’s fight against Billy Joe Saunders on May 8.

Como 1907: The American is a documentary that follows the former top-flight Italian football club, which is now consigned to the lower tiers, as US owner attempts to return it to glory. The three-parter will be available in June and is a collaboration between Dazn and the UK’s Sent Entertainment.

Also on the slate is Yuki: The Making of an F1 Driver, which follows Japanese Formula 1 debutant Yuki Tsunoda during the 2021 season, and the August return of The Xtra Sessions, the series that follows Spanish football team UD Ibiza and their attempt to get promotion to the country’s top division, La Liga.