Watching Serie A on a screen costs up to 50% more this year than last year. The increase was caused by the arrival of DAZN, the online streaming company of the British group Perform which bought the rights to broadcast 30% of the matches: the advance on Saturday at 20.30, the one on Sunday at 12.30 and a match of 15.
HOW MUCH DOES DAZN COST
But let's go in order. Up until last season, to see the whole Championship, it was enough to pay Sky a subscription of 20 euros per month. Now 70% of the matches can be purchased with the same amount: to see them all you also need to subscribe to DAZN, which after a month's free trial has a monthly cost of 10 euros (but also allows you to see other sporting events, including the B series).
DISCOUNTS FOR SKY SUBSCRIBERS, BUT WATCH OUT FOR THE DECODER
Result: the price to follow the entire Serie A has increased by half, going from 20 to 30 euros per month. However, those who have been a Sky subscriber for more than a year can buy some ticket discounts for matches on DAZN: 8 euros for a month, 22 euros (instead of 30) for three months or 60 euros (instead of 90) for the 9-month seasonal package. But be careful: the standard decoder is not enough, you need to have My Sky HD, which will need a software update, or install Sky Q, which has a variable cost between 4 and 15 euros per month and an activation cost of 200 EUR.
SMART TV OR HDMI CABLE
Alternatively, to watch the matches on the television screen instead of on the computer (or tablet or smartphone), you need to have a smart TV (i.e. a television connected to the internet) or connect the television and computer with an HDMI cable. Not really a convenience for those who have been used to using only the remote control for years.
TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS AT THE BEGINNING
Not to mention that last Saturday the DAZN site also went haywire, probably due to the excessive number of fans who tried to subscribe at the last minute. Those who managed to complete the procedure didn't have a quiet evening either, because the broadcast of Lazio-Napoli – between holes, disconnections and blocked images – was a nightmare for many. Sunday with Sassuolo v Inter it went better, but there were problems with video rendering and above all with audio-video synchronization.
THE CONNECTION SPEED IS DECISIVE
DAZN has assured that the service will be perfected as soon as possible. But even once these obstacles have been overcome, another problem will still remain: the quality of reception of the matches varies according to the speed of the internet connection. Those connected to the network with optical fiber will have fewer problems (although at the moment the high definition of Sky, to which many are now accustomed, is something else). Conversely, those who have the misfortune of having a slow connection – perhaps because the place where they live is not yet covered by broadband – will have to settle for a much lower quality.
In summary, it's not just this year that watching Serie A costs more. You also risk seeing it worse.
