Faced with piracy on IPTV and illegal broadcasts on Telegram, DAZN has decided to review its prices downwards to attract more football fans, particularly Ligue 1 fans. But this change is only temporary…
As the 2024-2025 Ligue 1 season officially begins, many football fans are frustrated. The reason: the DAZN platform, the “Netflix of sports”, has acquired the majority of the broadcasting rights for the event – it will broadcast eight of the nine Ligue 1 matches, while beIN Sports will take care of broadcasting one match per matchday. However, the prices charged by the platform are far from being cheap! You will have to pay €19.99 per month (without commitment) to access a single match per day or €39.99 per month (without commitment) to enjoy all the matches (see our article). On the beIN Sports side, you will have to pay €14.99 per month without commitment to enjoy the match broadcast on the Qatari service.
So, inevitably, IPTV and other illegal solutions are attractive! As reported The Tribuneat least 200,000 people turned to the Telegram messaging service to watch the Le Havre-PSG match on August 14, the season opener. Similarly, Google searches for IPTV have exploded. This service, often sold at an attractive price, offers a much cheaper alternative to legal subscriptions by allowing access to thousands of television channels, films, series and sports broadcasts without paying the corresponding licenses (see our article). It is possible to enjoy real bouquets with many paid channels (Canal+, RMC Sport, beIN Sport, DAZN, etc.), in high quality (Full HD and even 4K) for less than 100 euros per year!
It’s no wonder DAZN is struggling to recruit subscribers! Also, while the hashtag #BoycottDAZN has become a rallying cry for frustrated fans, the streaming platform has announced the launch of a “temporary promotion” from September 10 to 22, which will drastically lower the price of the offer. The promotion will not last but could convince skeptics.
DAZN: new attractive but temporary prices
“We are going to launch a promotion around our offers, valid from September 10 to September 22. Concerning the monthly offer (without commitment, Editor’s note) which is 39.99 euros, the first two months will be 19.99 euros. So 50% off on the first two months. And we are going to do an exceptional promotion on the annual offer which is today 29.99 euros (per month), which will be 19.99 euros over 12 months”announced Brice Daumin, CEO of DAZN France. “The first three days (of the French Ligue 1 championship, Editor’s note) were crucial for us. We had zero bugs. We are happy with this start. The feedback from the clubs is positive. A first step has been taken. Now, it is important to build over time, learn lessons and develop the product.”he specifies.
The new DAZN offer will be available on the streaming service’s website from Tuesday, September 10. As for the championship, it will resume on Friday, September 13 with a Saint-Étienne/Lille match. At the end of the promotional period, the usual rates will return. This is therefore not a long-term solution, but rather a period of reprieve for the Netflix of sport, which would allow it to possibly renegotiate its contract with the League or to offer new, more flexible formulas, in order to break prices.
According to information from West Francethe operator would have between 100,000 and 150,000 subscribers, more than ten times less than its break-even point. However, for its purchase of TV rights to be profitable in the long term, it will need to quickly reach the 1.5 million subscriber mark. Fortunately for them, the cooperation of broadcasters in the fight against piracy has nevertheless allowed them to obtain some victories and the blocking of sites by the main French Internet service providers.