Strong of “very good feedback”the British streaming platform DAZN is extending until the end of September its promotion on the price of the Ligue 1 subscription for which it has been criticized, the boss of DAZN France announced to AFP on Monday, September 23.
“The feedback from Ligue 1 fans, clubs, and the entire market has been very good. So we decided to continue for another week.”explained Brice Daumin, CEO of DAZN France.
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The initial reduction, valid from September 10 to 22, brought the annual rate from €29.99 to €19.99 per month. The promotion on the monthly subscription, €19.99 for the first two months, €39.99 thereafter, also runs until the end of the month, the manager said.
“The critics are behind us”
He believes that “The critics are behind us. I think the price has really become a non-issue, because with the welcome promo at €19.99 for 12 months we have the whole of Ligue 1 (one match per day is on beIN Sports), all of Betclic Elite (French basketball championship), MMA, in short all combat sports…”
At the end of a long saga, DAZN acquired the TV broadcasting rights for eight Ligue 1 matches per day at the beginning of July for an average of 400 million euros per year, with beIN Sports broadcasting one match for 100 million euros per year.
DAZN’s subscription fee has drawn widespread criticism, with a rush to illegal streaming channels and fans expressing their discontent in stadiums through chants and banners, also targeting BeIN Sports.
“Flawless start”
To combat piracy, Brice Daumin maintains a “big relationship obviously with ARCOM (Audiovisual and Digital Communication Regulatory Authority)with the League, with the APPS (association for the protection of sports programs)), the association for the fight against sports piracy, of which we will soon be a member.
“The whole creative industry is affected by piracy, it’s not just a DAZN issue”he specifies.
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To assess the success of DAZN in France, the subscriber figures for the British platform remain secret, but Brice Daumin “measures success by the satisfaction of our subscribers and the satisfaction of the clubs”. He assures that “All the clubs we meet are happy with what we do, from an editorial point of view and from a promotional point of view and the work we do with them”.
This work, he said, “That’s the key, it’s important for us to understand their expectations, that’s how we’re going to promote Ligue 1 and the clubs.”
The manager also judges the first five weeks of Ligue 1 operation as “A clean start. We are also making a clean start on the basketball that we launched on Friday”.
“I think the ecosystem is beginning to understand what we can bring: DAZN is a 100% digital player, we are a platform, not a channel or a traditional broadcaster,” he added. We are transforming the way we consume sport and that is something completely new.”
Brice Daumin thus evokes the possibility of “addressing fans where they are, on social networks, in digital ecosystems” but also “the ability to sell derivative products, merchandising, ticketing… An ecosystem is being established”.
