A survey by Odoxa found that 65% of French football fans feel that DAZN’s pricing drives people to watch Ligue 1 matches through illegal means.
Odoxa surveyed 1,005 people in France to gather their opinions on illegal streaming and the key factors driving this behaviour. The findings showed that 5% of the French population watch football through illegal streaming, with 60% expressing an understanding of this practice.
Illegal streaming has long been a significant problem, particularly for the music and film industries. While these sectors continue to grapple with the issue, sports are rapidly emerging as the most impacted area.
Pricing has consistently driven illegal streaming, as high costs have made films and music inaccessible to many. Sports seem to have missed this lesson, with rising ticket prices for live games and increasing costs to watch from home.
In France, DAZN shares the rights to stream Ligue 1 matches with beIN Sports. To watch all Ligue 1 games, viewers need both the DAZN Unlimited and beIN Sports subscriptions. The cost for these combined subscriptions is €54.99 per month without commitment (€39.99 for DAZN + €15 for beIN Sports) or €44.99 per month with a 12-month commitment to DAZN (€29.99 for DAZN + €15 for beIN Sports).
According to Odoxa, the French viewers who are willing to pay for football set an average maximum budget of €23 per month, which is less than half of what’s needed to watch all of their team’s league games.
Even though many fans find the costs too high, the majority of football viewers are paying subscriptions. Currently, 18% of French people have subscriptions to paid channels such as Canal+, DAZN, beIN or RMC Sport to access football content.
As mentioned above, leagues like the French top flight are shared between broadcasters, which increases the price. According to Odoxa’s research, 6% are subscribed to several channels.
The cost increases even more if a fan’s club participates in another competition, like the UEFA Champions League or other UEFA tournaments, requiring an additional subscription to watch.
Sharing broadcast rights creates challenges for broadcasters. According to Odoxa, among the French who watch football on television (48%), only 15% are likely to consider subscribing to one of DAZN’s offers, which translates to just over 3.5 million people. To meet its target of 1.5 million subscribers, DAZN would need nearly half of these potential viewers to sign up – a goal that, while achievable, is far from guaranteed.
Effects on the wider game
Limited access to watch games is affecting the sport more broadly. For instance, 54% of football fans report that it reduces their interest in Ligue 1. Additionally, 69% feel that the LFP poorly handled the Ligue 1 rights tender, and just 18% support the argument that current prices are justified to maintain the financial stability of clubs and French football.
Consequently, a large majority of fans (74%) sympathise with those boycotting in protest against the pricing. While only 37% of fans say it drives them to follow other competitions or sports. Illegal streaming options are becoming increasingly appealing, with 65% suggesting that current prices are pushing them towards IPTV or unauthorised streaming platforms.
