The Canal+ group is about to bury the hatchet with the Professional Football League (LFP) to return to its broadcasts the French championship. In a recent interview with L’Equipe, its president Maxime Saada confirmed that he was “ always in favor of distributing Ligue 1+ “. Under conditions…
Therein lies the crux of the problem and the dispute which still pits Canal against the League to this day. The proof with the scathing response today from the general director of LFP Media Nicolas de Tavernost. A resigning boss who clearly struggles to believe in a peaceful future collaboration. “ We are delighted that Canal+ is rediscovering Ligue 1, which has not always been the case », he immediately asks, relayed by the sports daily.
“ We have always informed club presidents that an agreement with Canal+ would be desirable as long as it is acceptable. There are two important conditions. The first is that Canal+ withdraws its procedures (the audiovisual group is claiming 660 million euros in damages from the League, considering itself wronged in plan B adopted following the explosion of Mediapro in December 2020, editor’s note).
There were eight from Canal+, a real legal harassment. And despite a clear judgment against him, Canal+ went to cassation… If Canal+ renounces it, it will be a positive point.
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A “comm stunt” from Canal?
While he will hand over control by the end of May, the former head of the M6 ​​group still insists: “ The second condition is not to be treated very differently from the European Cups. What interests the League are the subscribers that Canal+ can bring. This is why we asked to be included in the sports pack. When DAZN was distributed by Canal+, there wasn’t much effort on their part. And DAZN had just 90,000 subscribers via Canal+. »
And to conclude: “ Simply making the championship available to Canal+ is not a guarantee of success. Today, two thirds of those who subscribe to Ligue 1+ are Canal+ subscribers. They have already found the way… If Canal+ believes in Ligue 1, the best way to prove it is to integrate us into the sports pack. Any other consideration is opportunistic. If these two conditions are met, I think that the clubs will agree to be distributed by Canal+, which is an important player. But if it’s court in the morning and a 10 euro option which brings nothing to the clubs, they will not choose this solution. This will mean that it is a false proposition and simply a publicity stunt. »
