January 18 – Streaming platform DAZN has dropped its pay wall for all women’s live football broadcasts for the remainder of the 2023-24 season.
In total the broadcaster will be making more than 200 live women’s club matches available free including the remaining 29 matches of the Women’s Champions League season, as well as matches from the top leagues in Spain, Germany, France, Italy and Saudi Arabia.
In what it is calling a New Deal for Women’s Football, DAZN said it is removing the paywall to help drive the growth of the women’s game, and calls on “stakeholders to unite in a once-in-a-generation opportunity to make women’s football commercially viable and sustainable”.
“The women’s game is at a crossroads” said Hannah Brown, Co-CEO of Women’s Sport at DAZN. “We see two possible futures. In one, stakeholders come together to build a major global commercial sport. In the other, progress is slow and a golden opportunity to accelerate growth is lost.”
She said the opportunity requires “a venture capital mindset, with an investment horizon measured over several years.”
As part of DAZN’s ‘new deal’ campaign the digital broadcaster calls on clubs to improve the match day experience, provide better facilities and increase marketing.
DAZN also calls on media and broadcasters to deliver “broad distribution, premium coverage and enhanced marketing”.
Closer rights holder collaboration “with clubs, brands, and broadcasters to maximise media value and drive growth”, is also part of the clarion cry. In essence making sure the opportunity is co-ordinated throughout the core commercial football food chain to ensure that the it is shared and maximised.
“Women’s football is the most compelling sports investment opportunity for a generation,” said Hannah Brown. “To realise its potential the game needs another moment of bravery and rule breaking.”
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