The arrival of Nicolas de Tavernost at the controls of LFP Media, the commercial company of the Professional Football League, will therefore have changed everything. Since the former boss of the M6 group took office, the relationship with Canal+, a key player in the French audiovisual landscape embodied by Maxime Saada, has cheerfully warmed up.
The dialogue would be such today that the encrypted chain according to the Team would have already formulated two concrete proposal to the League for the distribution of the 100% Ligue 1 channels desired for the next school year (the French championship will resume its rights on August 15). One of these two options a priori to be retained by the LFP.
In a first scenario, Canal+ would become the exclusive representative of the Ligue to ensure the distribution of Ligue 1 to its various partners. Namely the Internet access providers Free, Orange, SFR, Bouygues… Maxime Saada offering in return a guaranteed minimum without however specifying the amount, plus a possible income sharing according to the number of subscribers reached.
Canal+ for exclusive or simple diffuser distributor
The Team recalls that the Canal group already has a similar agreement with BeIN Sports, whose programs are exclusively distributed via networks managed by Maxime Saada, with a guaranteed minimum of 250 million euros per year. And this until 2030. Canal+ would require another rule on this deal potential: a right of codiffusion of the famous Sunday evening meeting on its antennas.
The second option suggested by canal at the LFP would be much more classic. Namely a simple right of dissemination, without exclusivity, taking its share on the subscriptions thus generated. In its note transmitted to LFP Media, if we believe the aforementioned sports daily, the group would table a quick ecot of 800,000 to a million subscribers for the channel dedicated to Ligue 1. A diagram which would today be privileged by the professional football league but which implies for L1 clubs to manage without minimum guaranteed.
