It’s the hot topic of the season for French football: the saga of TV broadcasting rights.
After lengthy and exhausting negotiations led by the LFP, the English operator DAZN secured the majority of broadcasting rights for Ligue 1 Uber Eats in France, just days before the start of the season, succeeding Amazon and its approximately 1.55 million average monthly subscribers*.
Shortly after taking over, DAZN launched an offer at €39.99 per month, more than double** the price of its predecessor!
A true break from a pricing perspective, offering no continuity in terms of rates. Granted, it’s no longer the same provider, but the offer remains the same, if not worse, with fewer matches (due to the reduction to 18 clubs) and the departure of stars like Messi, Neymar, Mbappé, and Payet***. On the other hand, the Champions League offer is expanding with its new league format, featuring 36 teams, where each team plays 8 group stage matches.
As a result, sales have fallen short of expectations – with only between 100,000 and 150,000 subscribers according to early estimates – and criticism is pouring in from both supporters and the media.
So what do you do in such cases? You resort to a promotional offer to lower the prices…
In this case, DAZN isn’t holding back and offers a 50% discount, ultimately bringing the price down to a more reasonable level… €19.99/month, the same rate Amazon charged last season, valid until September 22 – for now.
And here, beware of the consequences: this kind of late reaction proves to be value-destructive (revenue, product, and brand image). The brave customers who signed up right at the launch—this small cushion of early bookers—feel understandably wronged.
If we could rewrite history, the exact opposite should have been done!
Start with a very attractive launch offer, limited in time and quantity, in order to…
– Create a reservation cushion (beneficial for reassuring investors, stakeholders, and cash flow)
– Generate a sense of urgency to buy (mention of limited stock and time constraints)
– Gradually increase prices over time (promoting engagement, customer satisfaction, and revenue)
With this “Early Booking” system, you can avoid the issues related to price reductions. If the number of subscriptions rises too significantly, you can simply reduce or eliminate the promotion. Nothing new here: most companies and our clients have understood and already implemented this practice, which resembles a genuine “safety net”!
Let’s hope, for the sake of French football, that this tactical offer will achieve a sufficient number of subscriptions so that DAZN does not activate an exit clause, which would signify another failure, reminiscent of the Mediapro disaster…
*Average number of subscriptions between September 2021 and June 2023, source: OTT Barometer NPA Conseil / Harris Interactive.
**Amazon subscription price = €219.8 (€69.9/year for Prime Video + €14.99 x 10 months for Ligue 1 Pass), which equals €18.31 per month.
***Best player in Ligue 1, a subjective assessment by the author of the article.
Keywords: DAZN, launch offer, reservation cushion, early booking, price reduction, subscriptions, discount, French football, pricing, pricing strategy,…