DAZN launches promotion on Ligue 1 subscription, but remains more expensive than the offer proposed last season

Criticized for its prices deemed too high, the British streaming service nevertheless offers an additional match per day.

Ligue 1 has almost slashed its price. The British streaming platform DAZN, heavily criticized for the price of its Ligue 1 subscription, will launch a promotion on Tuesday, reducing its annual subscription from 29.99 to 19.99 euros per month, the boss of DAZN France announced to AFP on Monday, September 9.

“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 less 50% on the first two months. And we are going to make an exceptional promotion on the annual offer which is today 29.99 euros (per month), which will be 19.99 euros over 12 months”, specified Brice Daumin, the CEO of DAZN France, who welcomes the “startup”with “zero bugs”.

If the boss of DAZN France assures to propose an offer “no more expensive than what may have existed in the past”, According to calculations by franceinfo: sport, the prices show a significant increase compared to last season for the viewer. To broadcast seven of the nine matches, the American platform Amazon Prime offered annual subscriptions between 168.90 euros and 186.87 euros, compared to 239.88 for the September discount offer from DAZN (359.88 euros without the promotion), which offers an additional match.

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 per year, with beIN Sports broadcasting one match for €100 million per year. But the subscription rate offered by DAZN (€29.99 per month for a one-year contract, €39.99 per month without a contract) quickly attracted a lot of criticism, with a rush towards illegal broadcasting methods. “A lot of converging information suggests that there is an increase in piracy, as happens every time there is an alternation among broadcasters,” said beIN Sports legal director Sarah d’Arifat on Thursday.

“For a few weeks now we have seen piracy being presented as an alternative to DAZN,” lamented Brice Daumin.Piracy is theft. Behind it, there are criminal and mafia organizations. It’s an entire ecosystem that is being undermined. It’s not just DAZN’s problem. It’s the problem of all rights holders and content distributors.” he added.