A dramatic turn in the TV rights issue for Ligue 1. Canal + has decided to put the only prize that was its own back into play!
The situation is getting worse and worse for Ligue 1 TV rights! After the withdrawal of Mediapro, the LFP hoped to save the furniture by finding an agreement with Canal + for the French championship to find its historic broadcaster. But the Vivendi group chain, after taking its time in negotiations, opted for a completely different strategy.
Rather than acquire the eight matches held by Mediapro, Canal + decided to forgo the two matches which were broadcast on its antenna, in order to organize a call for tenders on all TV rights. “We finally came to the conclusion on the Canal + side that it was in the interest of all stakeholders to go through a call for tenders, explains the boss of the chain, Maxime Saada, in the columns of Figaro. We therefore sent a letter to the LFP to inform them of the return of lot 3 that BeIN Sports sublicensed us. “
“No broadcaster has succeeded in making Ligue 1 profitable”
In other words, Canal + no longer wants to pay the 390 million euros per year spent for its two posters. And intends to offer another price, global, and necessarily revised downwards, during the call for tenders that the LFP now finds itself obliged to organize. “On the Canal + side, we believe that Ligue 1 has been subsidized for many years, Saada explains. No broadcaster has succeeded in making it profitable. Neither TPS, nor Orange Sport, both missing, nor beIN Sports, nor Mediapro, nor even Canal +. “
Ligue 1 is therefore too expensive, according to Saada. And would be even less attractive than in the past. “I believe that the L1 product has been completely degraded, explains the boss of the encrypted channel. First of all, for economic reasons. Broadcasting on Téléfoot (the Mediapro channel) greatly reduced the competition’s exposure. According to the famous adage, “far from the eyes, far from the heart”. The Classico PSG-OM which previously gathered more than 2 million viewers on Canal +, with peaks of more than 3 million, only gathered 400,000 on Téléfoot. The same evening, Canal + did better with a Rugby Top 14 match. Unpublished! In addition, the arrival of Mediapro has contributed to the exponential growth of piracy. A cyclical problem which will probably become structural without an effective legislative mechanism since it will be difficult to change habits. “
« We have not been treated properly in recent years ”
In short, the billion euros exceeded thanks to the Mediapro illusion seems a long way off. And even the annual 800 million euros hoped for by the clubs will probably not be achieved. It may even be well below. The clubs will find themselves in increased financial difficulty. But Canal + does not care. One can even feel some form of revenge in the behavior of the channel.
“We haven’t been treated properly in recent years, Saada explains. We do not forget either the postponement of matches by the LFP without consultation during the “yellow vests” movement, or the additional money requested to postpone the kickoff of the Sunday evening match by 15 minutes, and even less the celebrations of many presidents when Canal + returned empty-handed from the 2018 call for tenders. “ Three years later, Canal + replied. And that hurts a lot for French football.
