As announced by Maxime Saada, Canal+ did not participate in the auction system set up by the LFP for Ligue 1 TV rights over the period 2024-2029. But the encrypted channel should not negotiate directly with Vincent Labrune either.
Canal+ did not lie. A historic partner of Ligue 1, the audiovisual group has been extremely unhappy with the LFP since the lot released by Mediapro, in 2021, was sold to Amazon for 250 million euros. CEO Maxime Saada has promised not to participate in the call for tenders launched by Vincent Labrune for the TV rights to the two championships over the period 2024-2029. A call for tenders which was a failure, since no interested media made an offer!
If the situation is observed carefully, C+ will not return to the battle during the so-called “over-the-counter” negotiation phase (i.e. directly with the league management). “ Canal doesn’t have much room to maneuver. Next season the rights to the European Cups will cost him 480 million euros per year. It is enormous. Not sure they will be able to put a lot on Ligue 1, regardless of market prices », Explains an expert to RMC Sport.
DAZN via Canal+
Unless there is a thunderbolt, Canal+ will position itself neither on the “premium” lot (the two best matches of each weekend and the 4th) nor on the “volume” lot (the other matches), while the channel currently offers the shocks on Saturday evening and Sunday 5 p.m. But the platform could still offer a good part of the French championship via its “Canal +Sport” option (€25.99 per month, in addition to the €22.99 subscription).
Canal’s strategy is quite simply to build on its distribution partnerships already concluded with beIN Sports and DAZN. The beIN channels are obviously accessible via the Canal+ sports pack, and the DAZN premium channel has also been accessible since the spring. In addition to the 7 matches possibly purchased by beIN, Canal+ could thus co-broadcast one of the DAZN matches if the “Netflix of sport” offers lot 1. The deal would be perfect for C+, which could simply offer in return a part of the European Cups at DAZN (as she is doing this season with RMC Sport).
