The LFP call for tenders did not reap the expected results. A real threat for Ligue 1.
The Professional Football League, in the eyes of audiovisual players, made a serious error by publicly communicating the reserve prices of the two broadcast lots of the L1 over the period 2024-2029, namely 530 and 270 million euros for coverage of the nine matches making up each day of the championship. Established partners such as Canal+, beIN Sports and even Amazon, which has broadcast most Ligue 1 matches for two years, have been cooled by the demands thus exposed by the League. And the new potential candidates did not dare to launch the auction in the face of this denounced price premium.
The LFP, in fact, will have to negotiate these TV rights over the counter, in a process of direct discussions with the broadcasters which promises to be long. With even more pressure on their shoulders as Vincent Labrune, its president, expected that beIN Sports and Amazon, after the trumpeted withdrawal of Canal+, would take a concrete position during the call for tenders. Even if it means being below the reserve prices. Same thing for DAZN, which in recent weeks has continued to hammer home its appetite for the French elite.
“The League must really be wary”
When it comes to Amazon, pessimism is in order. “ Ligue 1 is not strategic for them. It doesn’t seem like they’re very motivated. They will not bend over backwards to keep Ligue 1 », breathes a source in the file cited by RMC. Finally in balance, beIN for its part is certainly interested but within a rational and proportionate framework, far from the objectives of the LFP. As for Canal, which from next season will be betting 480 million euros per year on the European Cup, the L1 on its broadcasts will probably only go through a sub-licensing distribution agreement.
With the stage thus set, the big winner could well be DAZN, a motivated player if we are to believe its aggressive communication but which intends to do business with the League at a lower cost. However, this new spoilsport among the historic ones does not necessarily have good press, weighed down by a cumulative debt of almost 6 billion euros – while ensuring that it aims for financial balance in the short term. “ The League must really be wary of this new entrant, worries a competitor. His financial situation raises questions. Operational problems have been reported in the different territories where they are located. They have no knowledge of the French market. And we don’t exactly know their long-term strategic objective. » An apprehension shared by several members of the LFP Board of Directors, according to RMC, which does not fail to recall the painful Mediapro fiasco. Most Ligue 1 clubs would not survive another episode of this ilk.
