Soccer on TV, the Democratic Party presents a question on DAZN: what does the government do to protect the rights of fans users?
What initiatives does the government intend to take to protect the rights of TV users after, on March 26, 2021, DAZN was awarded the rights for all the Serie A matches for the three-year period 2021-2024, beating SKY with its offer from 840 million euros per season, of which 7 exclusively and 3 in co-exclusive with another television operator?
In summary, this is the content of the question presented by the Democratic Party to the Ministries of Economic Development and Technological Innovation and the Digital Transition, with Senator Franco Mirabelli as the first signatory.
After retracing the steps of recent months that have led to this state of affairs, from the clash between DAZN and Sky to the partnership between DAZN and Tim, the question is aimed at “know what the Ministers’ assessments are regarding the facts set out in the introduction; if they believe that DAZN and the other operators who have acquired the transmission rights, given the current state of the internet throughout the country and its technological development, are able to broadcast the matches of each round of the Serie A championship in the seasons from 2021 to 2024, without disruption to users and without resorting to the subdivision of ten matches in ten different moments“.
The question also asks ministers “what initiatives they intend to take for protect the interests of millions of fans in the face of the announced price increase for watching the matches of the next Serie A football championship, to safeguard competition in the sector and the widest choice of operator by users; if it believes that DAZN’s behavior, following the acquisition of the television rights for the broadcasting of Serie A championship matches in the three-year period 2021-2024, prefigures anti-competitive behavior compared to other operators in the sector, some of which have already started legal actions for non-compliance with previous contracts or for checks by the Antitrust on the regularity of the new agreements; if the strategy undertaken by Tim in providing for the use of public funds (vouchers) for the subscription of football season tickets (Fiber to the Football) is compatible with the purposes of public funds and if this choice does not also lead to an alteration of the market “.