DAZN, the sports streaming service, is now available to millions of customers on Vodafone’s GigaTV TV entertainment platform in Germany as an onboarded app, via the GigaTV 4K Box for cable TV customers and the GigaTV Net streaming box. DAZN will be placed in a prominent app position on the STB home screen and video section and there could be occasional promotions around key events, but beyond this the app onboard is largely technical at this point and does not involve any kind of service bundling. This is expected to be the first of multiple partnership integrations between DAZN and Vodafone as the businesses respond to customer demand for frictionless, richer viewing experiences.
The move comes as DAZN prepares to show 45 Bundesliga matches on Fridays, Sunday lunchtimes and Mondays for the 2020-21 season in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. From the UEFA Champions League, DAZN will stream 110 out of 138 matches. The following season, DAZN coverage of the Bundesliga dramatically increases to 106 matches (103 exclusive) for four seasons and 122 (121 exclusive) out of 138 UEFA Champions League matches for three seasons.
Subscribers to DAZN can log in directly via the GigaTV 4K Box. Those who use the Android-based Giga TV Net can download the DAZN app via the Google Play Store. New customers can sign-up directly via the DAZN app or online at www.dazn.de/vodafone.
Rolf Wierig, Global Head of Entertainment & Video at Vodafone, added: “On our entertainment platform, GigaTV, we bundle TV, video and media library content and bring together the best of the services offered by our partners in the best way possible for our customers. With DAZN, we are now expanding GigaTV to include a popular live sport streaming service. It’s something our customers asked for and makes our entertainment offering on GigaTV even more attractive”.
Ben King, Chief Subscription Officer at DAZN Group, says: “Research shows us that Pay TV customers in Germany prefer to watch the majority of their video entertainment via their Pay TV set-top-box. We appreciate that asking them to switch to a secondary device to watch Bundesliga, Champions League or NFL places an unnecessary obstacle between them and the sports they love. In Vodafone, we have found a partner who shares our vision for providing instant and frictionless access to the best live sport.
The launch comes as DAZN renews its focus on existing core markets but also prepares to roll-out its global service later this year.
