DAZN launching women’s sport FAST channel for Germany and Austria

Sports streamer DAZN is launching a new free ad-supported streaming (FAST) channel in Germany and Austria dedicated to women’s sports.

The streaming provider says that DAZN Rise, which will launch on March 16, is the first independent channel for women’s sports in the two countries. The launch is timed to come just ahead of the final phase of the UEFA Women’s Champions League.

DAZN Rise will be available free of charge, initially via Samsung TV Plus and waipu.tv, with other platforms such as LG and Cliq to follow.

The programming line-up will include a selection of live matches and highlights from the UEFA Women’s Champions League, Spain’s LaLiga Feminina, France’s Feminine Division 1 and, from September, the German Women’s Bundesliga.

DAZN Rise will also show handball from the EHF Champions League, EHF European League, field hockey, the LPGA tour, and documentaries such as The Spark Within, a full-length Red Bull documentary about Olympic and world snowboarding champion Anna Gasser .
The first major live highlightson channel will be the UEFA Women’s Champions League quarter-final games between FC Bayern Munich and Arsenal on March 21 and 29, and Paris Saint-Germain against VfL Wolfsburg on March 22 and 30 March.

According to Digital TV Europe’s sister research outfit Omdia, only 9% of FAST channels in the US currently are sports channels, and only one was dedicated to women: Womensports channel.

“After many years where Women’s Sports were generally supported from a public service perspective, there is now the realisation from commercial operators that the demand in women in sports is growing and the rights values are still really low – it’s the perfect time to invest in women’s sports rights,” said Maria Rua Aguete, senior research director, media and entertainment at Omdia.