Historical partner of the French championship, Canal+ will not participate in the call for tenders for TV rights to Ligue 1 over the period 2024-2029. But the encrypted channel remains on the lookout if the League does not find a buyer next Tuesday.
The uncertainty is total a few days before the auction day for the TV rights of Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 over the period 2024-2029, while the president of the LFP Vincent Labrune is aiming for a billion euros ( including international rights). Canal+, historic broadcaster of the French championship, has officially announced that it will not participate in the call for tenders, after several years of conflict with the league, since the arrival of Amazon in 2021 after the Mediapro fiasco.
The audiovisual group headed by Maxime Saada will not make any offer next Tuesday, while the “premium” lot (the two best matches and the 4th) displays a starting price of 530 million euros, and lot 2, says “ volume”, is at 270 million minimum. But as indicated by the media journalist of The Team Sasha Nokovitch, the encrypted channel can absolutely return to the battle if the LFP call for tenders is a failure. Which is entirely possible.
If the offers are deemed insufficient, the league would then move to a direct phase, negotiating directly with the various interested players. DAZN, nicknamed “the Netflix of sport”, visibly intends to broadcast Ligue 1 matches (a few months after having reached an agreement with C+ to be broadcast by the operator), but Amazon, which is currently paying €250 million for 80% of the championship, might not move. What if Canal+ saved Ligue 1 again?
