With around three weeks to go before the start of the Ligue 1 season, the dispute over TV rights is not yet over. While everything should be clear with DAZN, the deal with beIN Sports is still unclear
The French league association LFP recently concluded negotiations on a new deal for the national media rights. The contract is set to bring the league 500 million euros per year until 2029 – only half of the billion originally targeted. The rights were split between the two broadcasters DAZN and beIN Sports.
Everything seems to be clear with the DAZN streaming service. It is to pay an average of 400 million euros per year and broadcast eight of the nine games per matchday live in return. There will also be an exit clause after two years if Ligue 1 does not generate 1.5 million subscribers.
The remaining 100 million per year is to come from the Qatari broadcaster beIN Sports, which will broadcast one top match per matchday in return. The broadcaster had previously secured the rights to Ligue 2 for around 40 million euros per year. Chairman of the beIN media group is PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi.
Club president speaks of “many new conditions “
However, it is said that there are still uncertainties about how the 100 million euros will flow from the Qatari broadcaster to the LFP. Originally, the agreement is said to have been that only half would be paid for the matches and the other half would be transferred for sponsorship deals. According to L’Equipe, the LFP has already negotiated the sponsors’ share down to 20 percent.
As the Guardian claims to have learned from high-ranking representatives of the Ligue 1 clubs, beIN Sports is said to have demanded, among other things, that the players wear the Visit Qatar airline logo on their shirts in matches broadcast by the broadcaster. This had met with resistance. One of the club owners spoke of “an attempt to build a captive league” and added by way of example: “What if I want to bring in Saudi money as an investor?” In a telephone conversation between the presidents, it became clear that “many new conditions are being put on the table”.
Source from beIN circles contradicts
An equally anonymous source close to the PSG and beIN Sports camp, however, has contradicted the claims, calling them “an outrageous campaign by those clubs who want to launch an in-house LFP channel”. The association had considered this idea before reaching an agreement with DAZN and beIN Sports.
Around three weeks before the start of the season in the French top flight, it remains to be seen what will happen with the last of the nine games on a Ligue 1 matchday
