Dazn: Agcom’s doubts on audience measurement

It’s stormy again on Dazn. After the controversy over the inefficiencies reported by many users during the first days of the championship, the streaming platform is again in the sights of the institutions, this time for the audience measurement of Serie A matches. At 2 pm yesterday, at the Commission Transport was held the hearing on the subject of Giacomo Lasorella, President of the Authority for Communications Guarantees (Agcom). The subject of this intervention is the particular methodology adopted by Dazn for the measurement of audience ratings, which is based on both Auditel and Nielsen, which produces listening data on digital devices without however providing a JIC level certification, standard of internationally recognized audience measurement.

The subject of the dispute is far from trivial. Under the 2018 Lots Decree, 20% of the revenues generated by Serie A television rights are redistributed based on the catchment area. The television audience, certified by Auditel, accounts for 8% in total. We are therefore talking about a figure of just under 100 million euros, which must be divided in the most equitable and transparent way possible between the various Serie A clubs.

Audience measurement

Hence the perplexities of Agcom, which, through Lasorella’s voice, expressed itself in these terms:

The authority has adopted a resolution concerning the new digitization process in order to detect its audiences in transparency. The challenge is the measurement of the total audience, which includes all digital devices. The authority has established that there is a uniform detection. Currently the ratings of Dazn are taken over by Auditel for the TV and by Nielsen for the other devices. The applied methodology is not compliant and even UPA has expressed its perplexity in front of these measurements. On 9 September, Agcom adopted a resolution to verify the measurement systems and reserves the right to adopt all measures to ensure correct detection.

For his part, Dazn provided clarifications on Nielsen’s audience measurement process, which aims precisely to provide the so-called total audience. Auditel data is flanked by those provided by Conviva, which measure connections by dividing them between TV, web and mobile devices, and those obtained through a behavioral survey among Dazn customers, which aims to obtain more in-depth information on user demographics. and on co-viewing habits. The results of the surveys are published on a weekly basis and provide information on minute-by-minute audience data and views of each spot aired, another fundamental aspect for the sector.

Dazn has communicated some data on the broadcasts of the first days of the championship, which show an audience in continuous growth and arrived last weekend at values ​​in line with those of last year. The percentage of TV connections also increased, exceeding the 70% threshold.

The data of Dazn

The spectators of Dazn in the first three days of the championship

The comparison year by year between some matches broadcast this season on Dazn

The ways of viewing Dazn in the first days of Serie A 2021/2022

From Lasorella’s words, some positive notes on the use of Dazn services:

Despite the need to monitor individual inefficiencies, on the whole it can be said that the issue of network resilience with regard to congestion and that of equal access by operators are resolved or in the process of being resolved.

The President of Agcom added that on Wednesday 22 September there will be a further meeting of the technical table, aimed at verifying the status of the broadcasting of football events in a moment of epochal turning point.