Dazn's monopoly cracks: free f1 and motogp races hit spanish tv again
DAZN’s grip on Spanish motorsport is slipping. Four races of Formula 1 and three MotoGP weekends will be aired live, free and in full on ordinary digital terrestrial television this season, wiping out—temporarily—the paywall that has frustrated petrol-heads since 2022.
The deal mediaset signed with dazn and motogp sports entertainment group
Mediaset, Spain’s largest private broadcaster, has once again forced DAZN to share its crown jewels. The agreement covers every session—practice, qualifying, sprint and Sunday’s main event—when the circus lands on Spanish asphalt. Barcelona-Cataluña on 13-15 June, Madrid’s inaugural street race on 12-14 September, and the Valencia finale of MotoGP on 28-30 November will all be available on Telecinco and Cuatro without so much as an email registration.
DAZN keeps exclusive rights for the remaining 18 F1 and 19 MotoGP rounds, but the loophole is glaring: any race physically held in Spain automatically triggers the “anti-siphoning” clause negotiated last year. That clause was inserted by the government after viewer complaints reached the CNMC, Spain’s competition watchdog. The result: a rare reversal in the global trend toward walled-off sport.
Why madrid changes the maths
The Madrid GP is the catalyst. City hall needs maximum exposure for a €450 million project that converts the IFEMA exhibition grounds into a 5.4-kilometre track. Regional elections loom in 2025; no politician wants empty grandstands televised. DAZN executives privately admit they accepted the concession rather than risk a legal battle that could have opened the entire calendar to free-to-air scrutiny.
Viewership data backs the move. Last year’s free Jerez MotoGP race drew 3.1 million viewers on Telecinco, triple DAZN’s average paid audience. Advertisers paid CPMs 40 % above prime-time slots. For Mediaset, motorsport is suddenly cheaper than La Liga and delivers male-skewed demographics that streaming platforms struggle to capture.
The unpaid bill dazn still faces
DAZN’s Spanish F1 rights cost €280 million over three years, according to filings in London. The broadcaster had banked on subscriber growth to offset that fee; instead churn spiked after the first renewal cycle. Analysts at S&P now estimate DAZN España will miss its 2024 EBITDA target by €70 million. Every race it gives away free widens the gap, yet refusing would breach a binding contract with race organisers who insist on domestic visibility.
Meanwhile Movistar Plus+, once the incumbent, is experimenting with its own zero-cost tier: Champions League highlights, original series and selected La Liga matches require no subscription this month. The manoeuvre is aimed at luring back broadband customers lost to aggressive football pricing. DAZN finds itself squeezed from both sides—traditional broadcasters weaponising free content while telecom giants bundle competing packages.
Formula 1’s commercial rights holder, Liberty Media, is watching closely. CEO Stefano Domenicali has floated a “hybrid” model for 2026: one free race per market, the rest behind a flexible paywall. Spain is the laboratory. If ratings rebound and circuit attendance rises, expect the template to roll out in Brazil, Germany and even the United States, where ESPN’s sub-licence expires next year.
Spanish viewers, long condemned to monthly fees or pirated streams, suddenly have a calendar to circle: Jerez in April, Montmeló twice, Cheste in November and Madrid’s unproven street circuit under late-summer floodlights. For once the remote control, not the credit card, decides who watches pole position. DAZN still owns the sport, but the asphalt itself is proving the ultimate disrupter.