On the eve of a crucial match for Olympique de Marseille, Canal+ has decided: OM – Newcastle will not be broadcast on the main channel, but only on Canal+ Foot. The audiovisual group applies its usual schedule for Tuesday matches, reserved for dedicated sports channels. An announcement which comes as OM plays for its European future at the Vélodrome.
Canal+ Foot recovers the poster
This choice deprives some of the subscribers of the meeting at no additional cost. Canal+ Foot is not included in the basic subscription and requires a higher pack, such as Canal+ Sport. Canal+ Sport will only broadcast the multiplex of the evening, available in all offers. The OM–Newcastle poster, although central for this 5th day of the Champions League, is becoming premium content among premiums.
The logic is clear: monetization in stages. Canal+ prioritizes its content to encourage subscribers to move upmarket. The best posters switch to Canal+ Foot, the main channel retaining the multiplexes or secondary matches. A strategy already applied in the past, which makes it possible to optimize the value of rights.
Problematic timing
For Marseille supporters, things are going badly. OM, 25th in the C1 rankings, must imperatively return to the Top 24 to continue their European adventure. Greenwood, top scorer in Ligue 1, arrives after the big success in Nice (2-5). But Newcastle, winner of Manchester City, arrives with confidence in a boiling Vélodrome.
This evening illustrates the growing complexity of the French television landscape. Access to major posters increasingly depends on a subscription level or a specific pack. An economic logic assumed by Canal+ which comes at the wrong time for some of the supporters. On the field, OM no longer has the right to make the slightest misstep.
