PR92097

LONDON, October 4, 2021, /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/--

Fans can watch all 61 matches on DAZN and free on DAZN's YouTube channel

beginning with the group stage kickoff tomorrow 5 October

DAZN assembles biggest on-air team ever to cover women's football for a single

broadcaster and unveils new plans around 'We All Rise' city series, Game of the

Week, social content, and more

New global research report further underlines partnership commitment to close

the women's sport coverage and viewership gap

With the group stage of the UEFA Women's Champions League

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xd2S8kwzYdk ] officially kicking off, global

sports streaming platform and host broadcaster DAZN together with partner

YouTube are thrilled to begin live broadcast coverage for fans around the

world, marking the official start to the landmark multi-year deal announced [

https://media.dazn.com/en/press-releases/2021/06/dazn-and-youtube-enter-groundbreaking-partnership-to-bring-uefa-womens-champions-league-to-fans-around-the-world-live-and-for-free/

] earlier this year. From tomorrow 5 October through to the finals in May, all

61 matches will be available live on DAZN [http://www.dazn.com/ ] and free

globally on DAZN's new UEFA Women's Champions League YouTube channel

[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxgii5f9u4YgXCeubCozbEA ].

As it's the first time UEFA has centralized all Women's Champions League

matches, through the partnership with DAZN and YouTube, fans for the first time

will finally be able to follow every single match, throughout the entire

season, all around the world, in one single place, for free - making the best

women's football monumentally easier to watch than ever before. This type of

universal availability and exposure is long overdue and essential to grow the

competition and ensure women's football overall rises into the ubiquitous

mainstream – where it belongs.

"I am thrilled about this partnership. For people to have access to our games

wherever they are is a massive move in the right direction, which was long

overdue in my eyes. And looking at the content DAZN is planning, to put the

spotlight on players and stories across all places, will take things to the

next level too," said Ada Hegerberg, all-time highest scorer in the UEFA

Women's Champions League, Olympique Lyonnais superstar, and DAZN's first ever

season-long global women's football ambassador who is eyeing a long-awaited

comeback soon. "UEFA Women's Champions League is coming close and I can't wait

for this season to start and show the world what we are made of!"

Building on a long-time commitment to women's sport and long-term mission of

growing the women's game, DAZN has now also unveiled its initial content,

broadcast coverage, talent, and social plans that will bring even more

visibility to players, clubs, and the elite competition itself.

"We All Rise" Series – More In-Depth Storytelling

The debut content on DAZN's UEFA Women's Champions League YouTube channel was

"We ALL Rise With More Eyes" [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxF40zSjFCw ] – a

campaign film conveying the brand's unwavering belief in the ripple effect more

visibility will have on taking the women's competition to new heights. Building

on this and a shared mission with UEFA and YouTube of turning more athletes

into household names and inspiring the next generation of players, DAZN is

unveiling the next installment of "We All Rise": a special six-part series that

will shine a light on women's football in six influential European cities, from

grassroots and local community to the professional game itself.

Each week of group stage play, DAZN will premiere a new short-form episode at

halftime across all matches that features a diverse mix of locals from each

city – including pro footballers, coaches, grassroots players, clubs, local

officials, and more. Collectively, their unique voices and powerful experiences

converge to tell the firsthand story of that city's rich history of the game

and revealing how – finally - women's football is indeed on the rise.

The six-city tour will start in the UK, with the first episode "We All Rise:

London" premiering tomorrow and featuring interviews with members of English

club team Dulwich Hamlet, community girls football club Hackney Laces,

Britain's first female Muslim football referee JJ Roble, former manager of the

Arsenal women's team Vic Akers O.B.E., London Mayor Sadiq Khan, star players

and legends including Katie Chapman, and more.

Next, the storytelling journey travels to France with "We All Rise: Paris";

this second episode will star freestyle footballer and Common Goal member Lisa

Zimouche, PSG player Kadidiatou Diani, PSG Academy up-and-comer Laurina Fazer,

PSG legend and Common Goal member Arianna Criscione, Muslim women's football

community collective Les Hijabeuses, inclusive amateur women's football team

Cacahuètes, and more. Following its broadcast premiere, each episode will also

individually be available for fans to watch on both DAZN and YouTube.

Game of the Week – More All-Access Coverage

Continuing the showcase of the best of women's football throughout the entire

UEFA Women's Champions League, DAZN will also travel to a different city each

week for its official Game of The Week - giving viewers on DAZN and on YouTube

an up close and personal look at all aspects of the game. The Game of the Week

will be hosted by a rotating group of iconic faces from football and the wider

sports and entertainment world and, beyond the live action itself, take viewers

onto and beyond the pitch as well as behind-the-scenes with their favorite

players.  

The first Game of the Week will be Barcelona vs Arsenal on 5 October and the

second will be Juventus vs Chelsea on 13 October, with both featuring a

top-notch presentation team soon to be unveiled.

On-Air Talent Squad – More Expertise and Reach

Ahead of live broadcast kicking off tomorrow, DAZN is proud to have lined up

the biggest on-air team ever assembled to cover women's football for a single

broadcaster – including dozens of professional commentators all over the world,

from former players to the biggest names in football broadcasting across

England, France, Spain, Germany, Italy, Denmark, Iceland, Sweden, Portugal, and

Ukraine.

With this historic women's football pundit squad in place, DAZN will guarantee

every single match for the season to be available for global audiences in up to

three languages: 1. home team language 2. away team language and 3. if not

already covered, English. This marks a first in UEFA Women's Champions League

history, as matches have never consistently been available in this many

languages before for fans worldwide, and thus is another major step towards

increasing the potential fanbase and growing the competition overall.

DAZN's new talent lineup includes such recognizable names as:

Pien Meulensteen (England): Seasoned sports broadcasting and women's football

pro currently working with Manchester United TV, Premier League Productions and

BBC Radio.

Romain Balland (France): Long-established women's football journalist and

Eurosport women's football presenter since 2014.

Sandra Riquelme (Spain): Former pro footballer and current commentator for

Vamos on Movistar and presenter for dedicated women's football channel El Patio

on YouTube.

Pierluigi Pardo (Italy): Legendary broadcast vet universally considered "the"

voice of football in Italy.

Verena Schweers (Germany): Former Bayern Munich and Wolfsburg star as well as

German national team player.

Social – More Nonstop Football

Beyond broadcast, DAZN is also committed to keeping fans on the pulse of

everything football with a steady stream of social content showcasing the

breadth and depth of the women's game:

On YouTube, fans can expect hundreds of pieces of non-live content annually,

including nonstop highlights featuring all the players, clubs, and goals from

the season. Additionally, an ever-growing library of content will include the

new "We All Rise" series, Game of the Week clips, player interviews and

profiles, team highlights and best-of goal reels, a new "This Is"

[http://youtube.com/watch?v=gHOHEfwD1Ts ] series that will help fans get to

know each team in the competition, and much more to come.

On both Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/daznfootball/?hl=en ] and Twitter

[https://twitter.com/DAZNFootball ], @DAZNfootball will bring a global football

audience the best narratives, highlights, clips, moments, and reactions around

the beautiful game, covering the best of football – period – with both women's

and men's football equally showcased on one single channel on both platforms.

Closing The Women's Sport Gap – More Industry Action

Underlining the vision and mission behind the UEFA Women's Champions League

deal and partnership plans is a new global research report published today by

DAZN and The Female Quotient. Titled "The Coverage Gap,"

[https://dazngroup.com/sports-desk/womenssports/thecoveragegap/ ] it includes

new data across eight countries including the UK, U.S., France, and Spain that

uncover key findings around the lack of regular women's sport coverage

(coverage defined here as broadcast, news, and social), how that translates for

consumers into ongoing barriers to viewership, and why more visibility is

critical to narrow and close the gap.

The full report can be viewed and downloaded HERE

[https://dazngroup.com/sports-desk/womenssports/thecoveragegap/ ]. Key findings

include:

64% of consumers say they don't watch women's sports because they don't know

enough about the athletes and teams, don't have as many opportunities to watch,

or aren't aware of where they can catch the games that are available.

There is a 30% gap between sports fans that watch men's sports (93%) vs. those

that watch women's sports (only 63%).

Minimal promotion for events, broadcast disparities, and lack of steady media

and social coverage and storytelling creates a significant barrier to

viewership.

To close the gap and further grow the sport, DAZN and partners UEFA and YouTube

invite key industry stakeholders to join in committing to making it easier for

fans to tune in and follow along consistently, by increasing the visibility and

coverage of women's football and women's sport overall at the same breadth and

depth as unfailingly seen in men's sport.

Because more leads to more, and we all rise with more eyes.

With UEFA Women's Champions League, it all begins tomorrow as the 16 top

European contenders go head-to-head in pursuit of championship glory – live on

DAZN and on YouTube. The full schedule is below (all times listed in CEST) and

you can learn more about the entire competition HERE.

Matchday 1

Tuesday 5 October

Hoffenheim vs HB Køge (18:45), Häcken vs Lyon (18:45)

Barcelona vs Arsenal (21:00), Benfica vs Bayern München (21:00)

Wednesday 6 October

Servette vs Juventus (18:45), WFC Kharkiv vs Real Madrid (18:45)

Chelsea vs Wolfsburg (21:00), Breidablik vs Paris Saint-Germain (21:00)

Matchday 2

Wednesday 13 October

Wolfsburg vs Servette (18:45), Paris Saint-Germain vs WFC Kharkiv (18:45)

Juventus vs Chelsea (21:00), Real Madrid vs Breidablik (21:00)

Thursday 14 October

HB Køge vs Barcelona (18:45), Bayern München vs Häcken (18:45)

Arsenal vs Hoffenheim (21:00), Lyon vs Benfica (21:00)

Matchday 3

Tuesday 9 November

Servette vs Chelsea (18:45), WFC Kharkiv vs Breidablik (18:45)

Paris Saint-Germain vs Real Madrid (21:00), Juventus vs Wolfsburg (21:00)

Wednesday 10 November

Barcelona vs Hoffenheim (18:45), HB Køge vs Arsenal (18:45)

Benfica vs Häcken (21:00), Lyon vs Bayern München (21:00)

Matchday 4

Wednesday 17 November

Hoffenheim vs Barcelona (18:45), Häcken vs Benfica (18:45)

Bayern München vs Lyon (21:00), Arsenal vs HB Køge (21:00)

Thursday 18 November

Wolfsburg vs Juventus (18:45), Breidablik vs WFC Kharkiv (18:45)

Real Madrid vs Paris Saint-Germain (21:00), Chelsea vs Servette (21:00)

Matchday 5

Wednesday 8 December

Servette vs Wolfsburg (18:45), WFC Kharkiv vs Paris Saint-Germain (18:45)

Chelsea vs Juventus (21:00), Breidablik vs Real Madrid (21:00)

Thursday 9 December

HB Køge vs Hoffenheim (18:45), Häcken vs Bayern München (18:45)

Arsenal vs Barcelona (21:00), Benfica vs Lyon (21:00)

Matchday 6

Wednesday 15 December

Bayern München vs Benfica (18:45), Lyon vs Häcken (18:45)

Barcelona vs HB Køge (21:00), Hoffenheim vs Arsenal (21:00)

Thursday 16 December

Real Madrid vs WFC Kharkiv (18:45), Paris Saint-Germain vs Breidablik (18:45)

Juventus vs Servette (21:00), Wolfsburg vs Chelsea (21:00)

Following the group stage, quarterfinals will take place in March, semifinals

in April, and the final championship match in May.

About DAZN Group

DAZN Group is one of the fastest growing sports media companies in the world.

Headquartered in the UK and with employees in over 25 countries, our businesses

touch every aspect of the way fans engage with sports; from production, through

to content distribution and commercialization. DAZN Group is home to DAZN, the

leading global sports streaming platform, DAZN News, the popular sports portal

and DAZN Player, the proprietary sports VOD platform for publishers. DAZN is

leading the charge to give sports fans around the world access to sport

anytime, anywhere. DAZN guarantees affordable access on connected devices

including smart TVs, set-top boxes, streaming sticks, smartphones, tablets, PCs

and game consoles. DAZN is now live in more than 200 countries and territories.

Visit www.dazngroupl.com for more information.

About YouTube

Launched in May 2005, YouTube's mission is to give everyone a voice and show

them the world. We believe that everyone deserves to have a voice, and that the

world is a better place when we listen, share and build community through our

stories. YouTube is a Google company.

About UEFA

UEFA – the Union of European Football Associations – is the governing body of

European football. It is an association of associations, a representative

democracy, and is the umbrella organisation for 55 national football

associations across Europe. Its objectives are, among other things, to deal

with all questions relating to European football, to promote football in a

spirit of unity, solidarity, peace, understanding and fair play, without any

discrimination on the part of politics, race, religion, gender or any other

reason, to safeguard the values of European football, promote and protect

ethical standards and good governance in European football, maintain relations

with all stakeholders involved in European football, and support and safeguard

its member associations for the overall well-being of the European game.

About The Female Quotient (The FQ)

Changing the equation. Closing the gaps. Fueled by the ideas, ambitions,

innovations and empathy of a network of 50,000 working women around the world,

The FQ is a collaborative global effort to eliminate the gender gap. While led

by women, engaged and inspired leaders join this collective enterprise. The

FQ's diverse mix of live events, online forums, custom research, media, and

corporate advisory services identifies challenges, surfaces effective

strategies, forges powerful networks, and ultimately sparks measurable

progress. For more information, visit: www.thefemalequotient.com.

Video - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1651714/WeAllRiseWithMoreEyes.mp4  

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1097249/DAZN_Group_Logo.jpg

SOURCE: DAZN