Dazn lifts paywall on women’s football to encourage growth and investment
UK sports platform Dazn has declared the removal of its paywall on all women’s football content, introducing the “New Deal” initiative to encourage substantial commitment from stakeholders towards the sport’s expansion.
With the paywall lifted, all remaining Women’s Champions League matches this season, along with 48 games in Spain’s Liga F, 48 in the Frauen Bundesliga, 19 in France’s D1 Arkema, 50 in Italy’s Serie A Femminile, and 15 in the Women’s Saudi Premier League, will now be accessible for free in the UK. This accessibility will remain in place for the foreseeable future.
Hannah Brown, the co-chief executive of women’s sports at Dazn, emphasised the company’s focus on the long-term strategy of promoting free-to-air coverage.
Brown said: “The decision marries with the broader commitment to the launch of free. So, we announced this year what we’re going to be doing around ‘freemium’ content, and women’s football sits as part of that strategy. For us as a business it’s the growth of a really important asset and about building a first-party relationship with customers on a global basis.”
In 2021, Dazn acquired the exclusive global broadcast rights to the Women’s Champions League and formed a partnership with YouTube. Originally planning to transition some games behind a paywall after two years, this decision was reversed in November. Dazn is now extending open access to coverage of other leagues as well.
“What we see in women’s football is if you put a paywall up, there is a small proportion of people that are prepared to pay for it,” Brown said. “But women’s football fans don’t exhibit those strong pay‑TV characteristics that we’ve seen around premium football in domestic markets, where you see customers make a real pay choice in order to interact with something. Women’s football fans are just not there yet.”
“In terms of assets and capability, this is a once in a generational investment opportunity,”
Hannah Brown, the co-chief executive of women’s sports at Dazn
Alongside this decision, Dazn is urging stakeholders in women’s football to make bold long-term investments, aiming to collectively enhance the sport’s audience. Named after the 1967 women’s football tournament in Deal, UK which challenged the Football Association’s ban on women’s football since 1921 and sparked transformative change, Dazn’s “New Deal” initiative invites collaboration from clubs, sponsors, media, and broadcast organisations to drive the growth of women’s football.
“In terms of assets and capability, this is a once in a generational investment opportunity,” Brown said. “I don’t think there’s any other sport asset class that is as exciting as women’s football. And the struggles the game has been through to get to where it is at today means that the bedrock of support it has is going to be very hard for anybody to pull back from.”