By not paying its deadline of October 5, Mediapro, the main broadcaster of the French championship (Ligue 1 and Ligue 2), has plunged French football into a blur. The boss of the Sino-Spanish group Jaume Roures wanted to be reassuring during his recent press conference, without giving any guarantee of a return to normal, namely the payment of drafts. A conciliation procedure has even been launched with the Professional Football League (LFP), which risks freezing the settlement of the next deadline scheduled for December 5. Club presidents regularly react to this new situation, which puts them in a situation that is at best uncomfortable, at worst untenable.
But what about Canal Plus, historic L1 broadcaster and holder of 2 out of 10 matches each day in Ligue 1? Asked by The echoes, the president of Canal Plus, Maxime Saada, also expressed his concern and, in passing, scratched the justification of Mediapro. “I am indeed very worried about French football. The Téléfoot situation has nothing to do with the health crisis. Since the resumption, the matches have been played and are played on the dates and at the times expected. This situation of non-payment of TV rights should not last too long, it would risk damaging the image, the quality, and ultimately the value of Ligue 1. Already, we can see, people are ‘turn away from it. There has also been a real explosion in piracy since the launch of Téléfoot… When bad habits are formed, it is very difficult to go back. “
Canal Plus not necessarily in the shoes of the savior?
From the announcement of Mediapro’s default a few weeks ago, many had emerged from the interview with Maxime Saada the day after the loss of TV rights to Ligue 1, where the latter was surprised at the price paid by the new player in the market and the impossibility of making it profitable. He hasn’t changed his mind with recent events of course. “There is always someone who thinks that he will be able to make better use of the rights than us by paying more than Canal. As you know and I spoke on the subject the day after the call for tenders, I have always thought that the economic equation was untenable given the price paid for the rights. “ If Mediapro does not manage to come to an agreement with the LFP, it will then be necessary to consider a new call for tenders. And some are already hoping to see Canal Plus take things in hand.
Maxime Saada is not unaware of it, but he is not going to show his cards now. When asked if he could invest in French football again, the president of Canal Plus ensures that he does not particularly need this product in his current offer. “In reality, the arrival of Téléfoot hardly caused us to lose any subscribers during this fall. We even recorded, for the first time in a long time, an increase in our subscriber base in France thanks to the work of Frank Cadoret and his teams. In addition, we have reinvested a large part of the sums initially devoted to the Ligue 1 call for tenders. We have bought a key lot of this competition from beIN with which we have also signed an exclusive distribution agreement. We have invested in Disney + and in the Champions League, which will return to us next season with, for the first time, the two most beautiful posters of each day. It will complement a rich sports offer in Ligue 1, Top 14, Formula 1, MotoGP, Premier League, golf, boxing, etc. This strategy works and there is no question of plunging Canal + into the red by reinvesting at a loss in football. “ One way, perhaps, to be desired, and to warn the LFP and the club presidents that a new call for tenders will not guarantee from Canal Plus sums equal to those promised by Mediapro. ..
