2023-10-18 15:45:13
It was only half a surprise. The Professional Football League announced on Tuesday the failure of its call for tenders for the broadcasting rights of Ligue 1 from 2024 to 2029. Only BeIN Sports and DAZN participated, with offers which were not not up to the expectations of the LFP. Canal + and Amazon, rights holders this season, did not participate in the call for tenders, but will be able to negotiate over-the-counter with the LFP. Explanations, to understand everything about the negotiations which will now take place.
What will happen in the coming days and weeks?
Behind the scenes, the broadcasters will enter into negotiations with the LFP. But this time, they will have no obligation to position themselves on defined lots, as is the case during the call for tenders. Each broadcaster can remodel the lots, to make a tailor-made proposal. The different parties will also not know the offers made by their competitors. Only the LFP will have an overall vision, and will be free to negotiate with the different candidates.
Over-the-counter negotiations had already taken place for retransmission rights in 2021, after the collapse of Mediapro. A first call for tenders was unsuccessful, and Canal + then reached an agreement with the LFP, by negotiating directly with the body.
The investment fund CVC Partners is also expected to be key in the next steps. Coming to inject 1.5 billion euros into the coffers of French football in 2022, against 13% of the revenues of the LFP commercial company, CVC Partners had been established as a savior, with the objective of “supporting the development of “the entire ecosystem of French football” according to the LFP. The group should therefore have an important role in the coming days and weeks to promote the Ligue 1 product, and try not to stray too far from the objective of one billion euros in domestic TV rights.
Whether it participated in the call for tenders or not, any broadcaster can make a proposal to the League. Canal + will thus be able, if it wishes, to apply for the retransmission rights, even without having participated in the first call for tenders. “I don’t see them not negotiating,” said Pierre Maes, international consultant in sports TV rights. It remains too important a product, they cannot snub the big championship matches. Which leaves the door open to another operator looking for more volume. »
This season, the historic broadcaster of Ligue 1 holds the rights to two posters per weekend, while Amazon, via its Prime Video platform, broadcasts the other seven matches. Like Canal +, Amazon can also try to enter into negotiations with the LFP, if it wishes. DAZN and BeIN Sports, who participated in the call for tenders, will also have to go through over-the-counter negotiations if they hope to obtain the broadcasting rights.
How long can this last?
It is impossible to know how long it will take for the LFP to reach an agreement with one or more broadcasters. “In theory, it could take a week or eight months, but my prediction is that it will last a little,” says Pierre Maes. In Italy for example, no broadcaster has yet been found for the next season, after the failure of a first call for tenders at the start of summer.
The 2024-2025 Ligue 1 season, the first to be affected by these new broadcast rights, will not begin before at least August 16, 2024, i.e. after the Paris Olympic Games.
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