French football league still unable to net new rights deal
Details
Joseph O'Halloran
| 01 February 2021
With the dust not yet settled on the spectacular collapse of the 80% rights deal it had with Mediapro, the League de Football Professionnel (LFP), which runs the Ligue 1 top flight French football league, has confirmed that even though three players have bid, its rights value has not been met.
PSG press phto 1Feb2021
As the 2020/21 season began, TV rights were shared by Spanish pay-TV firm Mediapro, which claimed 80% and the rest with Canal+. Yet a ball had barely been kicked before trouble started emerging with Mediapro’s deal which amounted to paying €780 million for annual TV rights deal to screen Ligue 1 action for four seasons. Mediapro failed to meet a scheduled €172m payment to the LFP in October, claiming that Covid-19 postponements had diminished broadcasting rights value and aimed to renegotiate and obtain a discount on its payment programme.

Broadcaster’s in the UK and in the Nordic territories had undertaken similar moves but had come to agreement with their respective leagues. Mediapro di not and on failing to meet its December 2020 payment, its contract with the LFP was terminated.

An LFP steering committee in charge of the two consultations relating to audiovisual exploitation rights for the Ligue 1 Uber Eats and Ligue 2 BKT championships has reported that it received offers from three major international groups: Amazon, Discovery and DAZN. Yet as its reserve prices were not met, the groups’ bids were declared unsuccessful. The LFP says that as a result it now has just 48 hours to define the next steps in the marketing of its rights.

The LFP launched a new rights offer on 19 January relating to the exploitation of the rights initially granted to Mediapro for the remainder of the 2020/2021 season (from 5 February 2021) as well as for the 2021/2022, 2022/2023 and 2023/2024 seasons.

Ligue 1 rights includes 4 packages : Lot A of 1 match per day of the championship including 10 matches of choice 1 (Top 10) and 28 matches of choice 3 with the big Sunday magazine and the review magazine; Lot B with 7 matches per league day including 38 matches of choice 2, 38 matches of choice 5, 36 matches of choice 6 and 152 matches of choice 7 to 10 with the presentation magazine of the day and the Sunday morning magazine; Lot C comprising three multiplexes of the 19th, 37th and 38th league days, the 2 play-offs and the Champions Trophy; Lot D which is for magazine programmes during the week. The consultation relating to Ligue 2 BKT includes 2 lots.