CIt's a time trial that will last until the 1stis December 2025. Within a year, DAZN will have to have 1.5 million subscribers otherwise its contract with the Professional Football League will end, even in the middle of the season. A goal which today seems almost unattainable: with only 500,000 subscribers since this summer, the new broadcaster of French football has not managed to find a place in the big leagues and still suffers from unprecedented mistrust.
Every evening from 6 p.m.
Receive the information analyzed and deciphered by the Point editorial staff.
Merci !
Your registration has been taken into account with the email address:
To discover all our other newsletters, go here: MyAccount
By registering, you accept the general conditions of use and our confidentiality policy.
After months of tough and unpredictable negotiations, the English platform had obtained the main prize for Ligue 1 TV rights, namely eight out of nine matches per day for 400 million euros per season. But faced with growing uncertainty, the LFP has provided a withdrawal clause after a year and a half if DAZN is far from the mark. And today, despite several discounts on its subscription price deemed excessive at launch, the L1 broadcaster still fails to seduce.
An offer considered insufficient, expensive and of poor quality
You just have to log on to social networks to see the criticism, still strong, towards DAZN. On X (formerly Twitter) for example, Mike says he will not renew his subscription. “I tested two months at €19 without commitment, it ended yesterday. There are Black Friday offers at the moment but I won't go back to them, it's really too lame. » Same story with Frédéric: “But who wants DAZN to survive with what they offer and their price in the end? Person. »
Are these virulent messages justified? Your humble servant has subscribed to DAZN since August in order to be able to follow the daily soap opera of Ligue 1 and discover new talents. Personally, the abandonment of the Sunday afternoon multiplex saddens me, because it made it possible to give rhythm to several posters of random interest. But the most frustrating thing with the platform remains the very late airing, sometimes after kick-off, if the previous match does not finish on time.
Piracy has never been higher for L1
When it comes to casting, many criticize DAZN for lacking quality compared to Amazon Prime, the previous broadcaster. It is true that the losses of Thierry Henry and Mathieu Bodmer hurt, but the English channel has the merit of innovating. In particular, it relied on commentators and analysts who do not come from the traditional circuit. The latest appearances of Zoumana Camara and Jérémy Ménez also show the desire to give new consultants a chance. But the frequent appearance of comedians and rappers leaves one skeptical.
Ultimately, the launch subscription price and massive piracy will have almost nipped the DAZN project in the bud. Despite the announced fight against links and other Telegram channels, the phenomenon continued until reaching a peak in piracy during OM-PSG on October 27: according to the LFP, 55% of viewers watched the clash of L1 illegally. A record in the history of the championship. Even more worrying, 27% of people watching L1 via piracy and IPTV started doing so this season.
To Discover
Kangaroo of the day
Answer
The possible scenarios within a year raise fears of a hasty end to DAZN, but French football will once again find itself with a thorny problem: who to broadcast content that is of less and less interest? And above all, with piracy in full expansion, the possible new broadcaster will also have to fight against this trend which has found new followers in France.
Some are calling for the return of Canal+ as a white knight, but it is difficult, in such a quagmire, to imagine the encrypted channel or another media attempting the perilous adventure.
Related News :