For decades, the relationship between Canal+ and French professional football has been the bedrock of sports broadcasting in France—a symbiotic, if often volatile, partnership. But as the new season looms, that relationship has entered a strange, frozen state. For the first time, Canal+ subscribers may find themselves without a direct path to the Championnat de France, leaving a void in the heart of the broadcaster’s sports offering.
Maxime Saada, the President of Canal+, is now attempting to break that deadlock. In a candid reflection on the group’s current trajectory, Saada has signaled that the door remains open to distribute Ligue 1+, the LFP’s direct-to-consumer platform. Despite a year defined by legal friction and public disagreements with LFP Media, Saada is positioning Canal+ not as an enemy of the league, but as its most pragmatic potential savior.
The tension is not merely about who broadcasts which match, but about a fundamental disagreement over the valuation of French football in a fragmented digital age. While the LFP has pushed for a high-premium model for its standalone service, Saada argues that the market—and the fans—cannot sustain it. The result is a standoff that leaves club presidents, broadcasters, and millions of supporters caught in the middle of a corporate tug-of-war.
The Pricing War and the ‘Legal Pretext’
The collapse of recent negotiations between Canal+ and LFP Media reveals a deep divide in how to launch a digital sports product. According to Saada, the primary point of contention was the monthly price point for Ligue 1+. Canal+ advocated for a price between €10 and €15 per month to ensure immediate mass adoption, offering a minimum guarantee of €100 million to hedge the league’s risk.
LFP Media, however, pushed for a more aggressive pricing strategy, eyeing a range of €20 to €25. While the league eventually pivoted toward the lower pricing recommended by Canal+, the deal stalled over a different hurdle: legal baggage. Saada alleges that Nicolas de Tavernost, the outgoing Director General of LFP Media, demanded the termination of all ongoing legal disputes between the two entities as a prerequisite for signing.
Saada dismissed this requirement as a “pretext,” noting that LFP Media has signed distribution agreements with other partners, such as the ISP Free, despite existing legal conflicts. To the Canal+ chief, the refusal to sign was not about law, but about a misalignment of vision regarding how to scale the league’s reach.
The Financial Stakes of the Distribution Deadlock
The economic impact of this stalemate is significant. Saada describes the first season of the Ligue 1+ model as an “editorial success but an economic failure,” citing a gap of approximately €120 million in domestic rights that should have been redistributed to the clubs.
| Point of Conflict | Canal+ Position | LFP Media Position |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly Price | €10 – €15 (Mass Market) | €20 – €25 (Premium) |
| Financial Guarantee | Proposed €100M minimum | Sought higher direct payments |
| Legal Status | Separate from distribution | Settlement required for signature |
| Distribution Model | Revenue share / Integration | Direct payment per subscriber |
From French Broadcaster to Global Powerhouse
While the domestic struggle with Ligue 1 continues, Saada is overseeing a massive structural pivot. Canal+ is no longer just a French encrypted channel. it has evolved into a global media conglomerate. With the finalized acquisition of the African giant MultiChoice, the group now operates in 70 countries, boasting over 40 million subscribers and an annual turnover approaching €10 billion.
This global scale provides a buffer that didn’t exist during the “crisis of 2018,” when Canal+ lost its Ligue 1 rights and faced an existential threat. Today, the group is diversifying its “betting culture.” Saada points to the massive success of the Champions League—specifically the Bayern Munich-PSG semi-final, which drew 3.81 million viewers and made Canal+ the most-watched channel in France that evening—as proof that high-stakes investments in premium rights still pay off.
The strategy is one of aggressive diversification. From the record-breaking growth of F1 and MotoGP audiences to a 35% increase in Top 14 rugby viewership since 2020, Canal+ is insulating itself against the volatility of any single league. This global footprint allows them to negotiate rights not just by the season, but by the decade, projecting growth across continents.
The Looming Shadow of Considerable Tech and Piracy
The entry of giants like Apple, Amazon, and Netflix into the sports arena is a reality Saada accepts with a mix of respect and caution. He describes his relationship with Apple executives, including Eddy Cue, as one based on rational business decisions rather than mere passion. While the “tech giants” possess immense capital, Saada believes Canal+’s own growth into a global subscriber base is the only way to compete on a level playing field.
However, the greatest threat is not a competitor with a bigger checkbook, but the invisible erosion of piracy. Saada has called on public authorities to treat piracy as an emergency, arguing that it effectively “kills” the sport by draining the funds that sustain the athletes and clubs. For Saada, the law must protect the paying subscriber to ensure the financial ecosystem of professional sports remains viable.
The Valuation of the French Game
When asked about the current value of Ligue 1, Saada’s assessment is sobering. Based on a subscriber base of roughly one million people paying between €10 and €12 per month (after taxes and commissions), he estimates the annual value at just over €100 million. This valuation underscores why he believes the league’s current leadership is mistaken in distancing itself from a partner like Canal+, which possesses the infrastructure to maximize that value.
Despite the friction, Saada emphasizes that Canal+ remains one of the primary funders of French football, particularly through its expansive distribution of Ligue 1 in nearly 40 francophone and anglophone African countries, where it has doubled its investment in the LFP.
The path forward now rests with the club presidents. Saada has made his position clear: the agreement from last summer is still on the table, and he is ready to sign as soon as the league’s leadership is willing to move past previous personal and legal grievances. The next critical window will be the pre-season period, where the LFP must decide if it can afford another year of fragmented distribution or if it will embrace the “useful partner” in Canal+ to stabilize its economic future.
Do you think the LFP should prioritize high subscription prices or mass accessibility via partners like Canal+? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
