INFOGRAPHICS. DAZN, BeIN Sports… Is it really that expensive to subscribe to watch the entire French football championship?

Not so long ago, Shay Segev, the boss of DAZN, the new broadcaster of eight of the nine matches of the 34 days of the French championship, assured in The Team that “29.99 euros per month [avec un engagement de deux ans], “It’s the right price for Ligue 1”. It seems that what was true on August 14 is less true now, after weeks of incessant complaints from fans of the championship on social networks. On Tuesday, September 10, DAZN (pronounced “dazone”) slashed its prices to 19.99 euros per month for a one-year commitment. An offer valid until September 22 (for now), but which raises the question of the amount that the consumer is prepared to pay. And the amount that he has actually been paying for twenty years.

From a strictly accounting point of view, watching Ligue 1, which resumes on Friday evening after an international break, does not cost that much for the 2024-2025 season which is just beginning. Taking into account the discount offered these days by DAZN and adding the 15 euros per month for the last match of each day offered by BeIN Sportsthe total bill comes to 35 euros. A figure in line with previous offers, such as that of the Canal+-Amazon Prime duo which broadcast the championship between 2021 and May 2024.

Compared to other eras, the bill could almost seem light. When we adjust the prices of the last twenty years to inflation, again, the duo BeIN-DAZN is average.

Because what is also criticized about DAZN is the price displayed for a bouquet of channels which has relatively few sports rights compared to BeIN Sportsand a single-sport program that contrasts with the Canal-Amazon duo, with its plethora of fiction catalogs. Vincent Bolloré’s group also includes films released during the year, in-house series of recognized quality, other prestigious sports such as F1, while Amazon can rely on its gigantic merchant site in addition to viral programs such as the series The Boys.

While Ligue 1 was reduced to 18 clubs in August 2023, a third of this contingent is also engaged in a European Cup this season. However, the Champions League, the Europa League and the Europa Conference League are broadcast exclusively on Canal+ (which does not have any Ligue 1 matches). A supporter of PSG, Brest, Lyon, Nice, Monaco or Lille wishing to see all of their team’s matches must therefore add another 20 euros (in the best case scenario) to the bill.

“Ligue 1 is now just another flagship product among many others,” noted sports economist Pierre Rondeau on franceinfo at the end of July, when the new broadcaster was announced. “It is no longer really a purchase trigger or a loyalty product. (…) The French model is built on multidisciplinary broadcasters, with a multiple offer.” A survey conducted among sports fans by two economists in 2019 put the maximum amount for all sports subscriptions at 30 euros. This figure was largely exceeded for L1 alone this season, even with the discount offered by DAZN.