EXPLAINED: Why are Italians angry at streaming platform DAZN?
The latest controversy to affect Italy, eliciting reactions from everyone from football fans to politicians, involves the streaming platform DAZN. Here's what's going on.
If you want to anger an Italian, one sure way is to take away their football games. This is exactly what happened on Sunday evening when the streaming platform DAZN logged users off just before the Serie A matches.
The bug couldn't have come at a worse time.
The streaming platform has exclusive rights to the Italian first league, Serie A, and earlier this year announced a €29.99 monthly subscription and stricter rules limiting device access and blocking simultaneous viewing from different locations in an effort to curb "piracy".
This is the first round of Serie A football matches since the new prices came in on DAZN. The championship is also coming back during the summer holidays when most Italians are home ready to watch their calcio, as Italians call soccer.
READ ALSO: Italian word of the day: ‘Azzurro’
Many have complained that the new high prices come with a lousy service, with Sunday's "blackout" only the most recent example. Users were given "emergency links" to log in, but many complained they could still not access the programme.
Politicians join the aggravation
Not only did the hashtag #DAZN go up the list of Italy's trending topics (and it still holds a premium spot over there), but the dispute became political.
The country's Democratic Party (PD) said: "tens of thousands of citizens have paid for a service in advance and now suffer with a shameful disservice, in almost all parts of Italy, for the problems with DAZN Italy".
Decine di migliaia di cittadini hanno pagato un servizio anticipatamente e ora subiscono un disservizio vergognoso, in quasi tutte le parti di Italia, per i problemi di ricezione di @DAZN_IT. Intervengano @AGCOMunica e @SerieA. #Dazndown pic.twitter.com/4S3Xm3LeAr
— Partito Democratico 🇮🇹 🇪🇺 (@pdnetwork) August 14, 2022
The party called on Agcom, the regulator and competition authority for the communication industries, and Serie A to intervene.
Politicians from all political spectrums have commented on the issue, including Carlo Calenda, Matteo Salvini (Lega), and Maurizio Gasparri (Forza Italia). Football players such as Daniele de Rossi and other Italian celebrities also complained about the lack of service.
READ ALSO: Home entertainment: a quick guide to video streaming, VPNs and audiobooks
On Sunday evening, the streaming service released a statement, later deleted, recognising the connection issues. "Some users are currently experiencing access issues on our platform. We are working hard to find a solution as soon as possible and apologise for the inconvenience.", the company said.
What will happen now?
Most of the politicians said they would bring the problems to parliament or Italy's communication regulator. The main issue is DAZN's exclusivity rights to Italian football.
The problems will likely influence future decisions on who has the rights to show the games - with broadcaster Sky, which used to have broadcast rights to the matches, looking into getting back on the field.
Of course, nothing is certain yet, and at least for this season, DAZN will continue to transmit games to its subscribers.
One thing seems to be sure, though: If there is one issue that can unite all Italians, it is football.
Agenda #DAZN sucks >>> Agenda Draghi pic.twitter.com/2j5y8IyFfe
— Crazy Ass Moments in Italian Politics (@CrazyItalianPol) August 14, 2022
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If you want to anger an Italian, one sure way is to take away their football games. This is exactly what happened on Sunday evening when the streaming platform DAZN logged users off just before the Serie A matches.
The bug couldn't have come at a worse time.
The streaming platform has exclusive rights to the Italian first league, Serie A, and earlier this year announced a €29.99 monthly subscription and stricter rules limiting device access and blocking simultaneous viewing from different locations in an effort to curb "piracy".
This is the first round of Serie A football matches since the new prices came in on DAZN. The championship is also coming back during the summer holidays when most Italians are home ready to watch their calcio, as Italians call soccer.
READ ALSO: Italian word of the day: ‘Azzurro’
Many have complained that the new high prices come with a lousy service, with Sunday's "blackout" only the most recent example. Users were given "emergency links" to log in, but many complained they could still not access the programme.
Politicians join the aggravation
Not only did the hashtag #DAZN go up the list of Italy's trending topics (and it still holds a premium spot over there), but the dispute became political.
The country's Democratic Party (PD) said: "tens of thousands of citizens have paid for a service in advance and now suffer with a shameful disservice, in almost all parts of Italy, for the problems with DAZN Italy".
Decine di migliaia di cittadini hanno pagato un servizio anticipatamente e ora subiscono un disservizio vergognoso, in quasi tutte le parti di Italia, per i problemi di ricezione di @DAZN_IT. Intervengano @AGCOMunica e @SerieA. #Dazndown pic.twitter.com/4S3Xm3LeAr
— Partito Democratico 🇮🇹 🇪🇺 (@pdnetwork) August 14, 2022
The party called on Agcom, the regulator and competition authority for the communication industries, and Serie A to intervene.
Politicians from all political spectrums have commented on the issue, including Carlo Calenda, Matteo Salvini (Lega), and Maurizio Gasparri (Forza Italia). Football players such as Daniele de Rossi and other Italian celebrities also complained about the lack of service.
READ ALSO: Home entertainment: a quick guide to video streaming, VPNs and audiobooks
On Sunday evening, the streaming service released a statement, later deleted, recognising the connection issues. "Some users are currently experiencing access issues on our platform. We are working hard to find a solution as soon as possible and apologise for the inconvenience.", the company said.
What will happen now?
Most of the politicians said they would bring the problems to parliament or Italy's communication regulator. The main issue is DAZN's exclusivity rights to Italian football.
The problems will likely influence future decisions on who has the rights to show the games - with broadcaster Sky, which used to have broadcast rights to the matches, looking into getting back on the field.
Of course, nothing is certain yet, and at least for this season, DAZN will continue to transmit games to its subscribers.
One thing seems to be sure, though: If there is one issue that can unite all Italians, it is football.
Agenda #DAZN sucks >>> Agenda Draghi pic.twitter.com/2j5y8IyFfe
— Crazy Ass Moments in Italian Politics (@CrazyItalianPol) August 14, 2022
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