AGCM

The Italian Competition Authority has closed the investigation relating to the DAZN service, launched in August 2018 by Perform Investment Limited and Perform Media Services S.r.l., ascertaining two unfair commercial practices and applying sanctions totalling 500 thousand euros to the companies.

The Authority has noted that the two companies used, in the promotional activity offering the DAZN streaming service for viewing of live serie A and serie B matches in the 2018/19 season, advertising messages through which the possibility of using the service "when you want, where you want” was emphasised, without any reference to the technical limitations which could, instead, make it difficult or even prevent it, as demonstrated by the difficulties encountered in practice by consumers at the beginning of the season, in violation of art. 21 of the Consumer Code.

The Authority has also established that the two companies, always in violation of art. 21 of the Consumer Code, have adopted a misleading procedure for signing up to the service on the DAZN website. In fact, the consumer was offered the possibility, by registering to the website, to receive one month free trial, specifying that registration would not have entailed entering into a subscription contract. In reality, the creation of the account determined, in fact, the conclusion of the DAZN service contract that, in the absence of termination, would have entailed the beginning of the systematic debit of monthly costs after the first month.

25 March 2019