Broadcaster DAZN has removed its paywall for its entire women’s football portfolio in the UK for the remainder of the 2023-24 season.
All Women’s Champions League fixtures will be free to air, along with the top tiers in Spain, Germany, France, Italy and Saudi Arabia.
DAZN says the change has been made to “increase audience and drive growth” as part of the its new women’s football strategy.
The remaining 29 matches in this season’s Champions League will be broadcast for free, along with 48 from Liga F fixtures, 48 Frauen Bundesliga fixtures, 19 in D1 Arkema, 50 from Serie A Femminile and 15 Saudi Women’s Premier League matches.
UEFA announced a four-year exclusive broadcast partnership with DAZN and YouTube ahead of the 2021-22 season, marking the competition’s first global broadcast deal.
All 61 matches were free to air during the first two years of the broadcast deal, and the plan had been to move all but 19 games behind a paywall from the 2023-24 campaign onwards, but this has now been scrapped.
On the decision to remove the paywall, a DAZN statement on Wednesday read: “This will drive audience growth and provide a new global home for women’s football, offering greater access to games, content and the international women’s football community,” adding it…
