Increase of over six million on last year’s competition
DAZN has revealed that over 20 million tuned into the UWCL group stages through its YouTube channel this season.
The competition returns this week, with Barcelona, Olympique Lyonnais, FC Bayern Munchen, Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal, Chelsea, AS Roma and VfL Wolfsburg taking part in the knockout rounds - which will be shown on DAZN as well as free-to-air on YouTube.
DAZN’s rights deal with UEFA sees it show the competition shown free-to-air as well as on its platform, with a plan to move it to only the platform over time. It also creates shoulder content to promote the UWCL, with over 300 pieces of non-live content on the channel in total.
This allowed over 20 million to watch the 2022/23 group stages through DAZN’s YouTube channel, a 43% increase from 14+ million in 2021/22. This is in addition to “millions” streaming through the DAZN platform.
Andrea Ekblad, VP of women’s sports at DAZN, said: “As we move into the knockout stages of this elite competition and continue the second year of Dazn’s broadcasting partnership, the audience growth has been impressive and the figures speak for themselves. The football on display is world-class, which is why we have committed so strongly in our investment of the sport and are dedicated to providing the best possible broadcast output, reach and delivery.
“We want to continue to drive as many global audiences as possible and are on a mission to be the home of women’s football. Our unwavering and continued support is shown through our top-tier global broadcast offerings: our agreements with Finetwork Liga F and Frauen Bundesliga as well as our DACH RISE channel and DAZN Victoria plan.”
Pien Meulensteen, lead UWCL commentator, added: “I am super excited for the return of the Women’s Champions League. It’s a chance to see the best teams, with top players, go head-to-head for the biggest prize in European football. We want as many eyes on the sport as possible and I am excited to continue to work with a brilliant commentary team and to broad cast to fans all across the world. We have some cracking games to look forward to and I can’t wait to see what twists and turns the quarter-finals and beyond has to offer.”
Guy-Laurent Epstein, UEFA’s director of marketing, commented: “UEFA is delighted to work together with our global partner Dazn to further grow the women’s game, by giving the UEFA Women’s Champions League high visibility through their free to air channels till the end of the season. All quarter-final fixtures will be played in each teams’ main stadium, and we can look forward to an amazing knock-out phase culminating in the final in Eindhoven on June 3rd. We are delighted to see that our joint investment to support Women’s football is successfully supporting the growth of audience figures ensuring new fans tuning in from around the globe.”
DAZN recently launched a linear channel in the UK and Ireland, and CEO Shay Segev has announced that the company has made the territory a high priority. DAZN VP of production and editorial operations, Louise Lawler, recently spoke about the broadcaster’s approach to women’s sport.
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