Exceptional evening this Friday for Christophe, a 55-year-old LOSC supporter. Subscriber to the Pierre-Mauroy stadium, he will finally see an away match of his team. It will be in Monaco, and this Les Dogues fan plans to follow the meeting in a bar in Linselles, his town. The Northerner, who refused to subscribe to DAZN for 40 euros per month (without commitment), in fact misses half of the matches of a club with which he has always been in love. “ There is something missing “, he admits.
“We have the impression of detaching ourselves”, admits a Lens supporter
Like him, many of them – whether they like Lille or Lens – have had to reluctantly give up watching their team’s matches on TV. DAZN is increasing its commercial operations to try to attract football fans. But nothing happens: according to The Teamthe platform only has 500,000 subscribers. At the same time, the new broadcaster enforces its rights by hunting down illegal streaming. A hunt made much more fluid since the arrest of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov.
« In the Bollaert stands, we often sing “in misfortune or glory we are there”. Well, I’m not here anymore, and it’s because of DAZN », moans Florien. Normally, this 22-year-old student is “ capable of missing a wedding for a Lens-Angers “. But this season, he has only seen parts of the match from Will Still’s men. “ I don’t feel any less in love with the club. But the most important part of football is what happens for 90 minutes on the pitch at the weekend, and when you miss that, you feel like you’re falling apart “, he admits.
The arrival of DAZN has accentuated “a disenchantment with football”
He is not a Lens subscriber and therefore misses all of the meetings. Which he now follows as best he can. “ I do other things, but I ruminate while looking at the score on my phone or listening to the radio “, he says. Same thing for Henry, who has supported LOSC since the age of 5 and who no longer sees any matches. He doesn’t have no desire to finance the LFP disaster » and assures that he has “ not yet passed the IPTV milestone (an illegal solution, Editor’s note).”
I do other things, but I ruminate while looking at the score on my phone or listening to the radio.
So obviously, “ love of the club takes a more limited place “. But like some of those close to him, he feels “ a disenchantment with football », « his madness, his business and his scandals “. This is in his own way what Christophe feels: “ I prefer to go see a girls or youth match rather than subscribe to this channel. We still have important links with the club, but not in the same way. We are moving more towards an English model, where they still have this pub culture in the face of such high prices. “. And with the price of a DAZN subscription, you can treat yourself to a few pints before the Monaco-Lille match.
