Who is the newest competitor in the TV market? And how are they trying to gain as many subscribers as possible? Matchplan answers the most important questions.
What is DAZN?
DAZN (pronounced “Da Zone”) is a live streaming service that brings fans sports streams with a Netflix-style subscription model. Customers can subscribe to DAZN, which allows them to access more than 8,000 live events per year. The advantage over other subscriptions: membership can be canceled at any time.
DAZN is part of the Perform Group. Perform is a world-leading media group in the field of digital sports content and has launched DAZN as its “new forward-looking live sports service.” This live sports service complements their Divisions Perform Media (e.g., Spox, Goal) and Perform Content (e.g., Opta).
How expensive is DAZN monthly?
The first month is completely free. Fans can decide after four weeks if they want to continue using the service. Starting from the second month, 9.99 euros are due each month. At no additional cost, subscribers can track all the leagues which are included.
Very illustrious events like the Clásico between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona or the NFL Superbowl are included in the price. All events are also available to watch any time after they originally air. This is particularly relevant for sports events happening across the pond, where fans would have to deal with the time difference. And: so far, the service is free of advertising.
How can I receive DAZN?
DAZN is available in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Japan and Canada. Fans can receive the program in different ways. The offer is available for Smart TV, PC, Smartphone or console via Livestream in (full) HD quality (720p or 1080p):
- TV: Smart TVs from Android TV, LG, Panasonic, Samsung, Sony and Philips. Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick
- Smartphone & Tablet: Via App for iOS and Android, available in the appstore and on Google Play
- Computer: Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, Edge, Safari
- Game console: Xbox One, PlayStation®3, PlayStation®4
According to rumors, the service will also work via AppleTV. It is also possible to stream the service on two devices at the same time.
What sports and leagues does DAZN show?
The Perform Group owns the rights to the Premier League for the countries of Germany, Austria and Switzerland until 2021.
In addition, the responsible parties announced that they were bidding for the Bundesliga transfer rights for the period of 2017/18 to 2020/21. It turned out they couldn’t beat out Sky and Eurosport, and only got the rights for highlight clips. Fans can now make their own sports shows based on these highlights.
The partnership with BILD means that DAZN will receive rights to the highlight clips for the 2017/2018 season. Thus, they will show every goal of the first and second soccer league for the next five seasons.
In addition, they have rights to LaLiga Santander, Serie A, Ligue 1, the NBA, the NFL, the NHL and MLB. Furthermore, they have transmission rights for many other European football leagues. Other great sports on offer include tennis, darts, handball and boxing.
The “fight of the century”
Good news for German fans: the streaming service DAZN will broadcast the mega-fight on the 27th of August via livestream starting at 3. DAZN confirmed this on Wednesday with a posting on its Facebook page. The portal has secured the transfer rights for Germany and Austria.
The duel between “Money” and “The Notorious” is included in the monthly subscription. In addition, pay-per-view costs will not be charged for existing customers.
And even cheaper! DAZN offers a free period for new customers. After that, the subscription costs only 9.99 euros per month and can be terminated at any time. Therefore, fans can in theory watch the fight without paying a cent.
The Champions League on DAZN
The negotiations with UEFA have officially ended. Starting with the 2018/19 season, the Champions League will move from free TV to pay TV. Sky and DAZN are ready to pay around 600 million euros for the rights from 2018/19 to 2020/21. It will be the first time in history that all games in Germany and Austria are broadcasted exclusively on Pay TV or as part of a streaming service.
Michael Bracher, editor in chief for Perform, told Kicker: “Our CEO, James Rushton, has quite clearly said that DAZN is also interested in these premium rights. We can only reach a wide audience with top rightssuch as the Champions League. ”
Finally, the SPIEGEL reported that 104 individual games will be broadcasted on DAZN per season. Sky has secured the rights for 34 individual games and will continue to show all simulcasts as before. DAZN does not offer any simulcasts. Sky is said to have the rights to all games in the group stage on all Wednesdays and the right to choose first on three out of six games on Tuesdays. “No matter how you look at it – the number of games or the quality of the games – it is not a second class deal where DAZN is just a supporting channel,” said DAZN chief James Rushton. “We have a relatively equal share of rights.”
What is the future for DAZN?
Rushton told Manager magazine their goal. They want to catch up to Sky: “This is something we have to achieve. In the medium and long term, success means having the same customer base as Sky.” This would mean a proud five million customers.
However, he is only willing to go so far for the Bundesliga rights. “We will not take our principles overboard for this. I’m not interested in the Bundesliga if we have to charge 30 or 40 euros per month.”
In the short term, it remains to be seen whether Rushton & Co. can win the rights to the Europa League. Sport1 will probably lose the TV rights. This is considered certain. From 2018/19 onwards, two new contract partners will have a chance. The favorites: DAZN as well as RTL.
How does one subscribe to DAZN?
Benjamin Reininger, Marketing Director, said in the new OMR podcast: “We reach a target of 10 million people per week via social media, but we hardly generate any subscriptions. Search is the absolute plus.”
Ten of the company’s 150 employees in Germany focus on marketing activities. Everything related to video and display measures are being taken care of by the agency Essence from London.
