French football is scrambling to secure new broadcast arrangements following a bitter dispute with its current media partner, DAZN. The disagreement threatens further financial strain for clubs and undermines the reputation of France's top-flight league.
UK-based broadcaster, DAZN, has announced it will not honour its five-year contract with Ligue 1. Despite being only in the first year of the agreement, DAZN claims it is losing money due to insufficient subscriber numbers. The broadcaster also accuses clubs of denying access to players and games needed to make their subscription product appealing while failing to combat piracy.
Negotiations between Ligue 1 and DAZN broke down last week, leaving French football in a precarious position. Ligue 1 has been grappling with broadcasting issues since 2020 when Mediapro, its then-broadcaster went bankrupt during the coronavirus pandemic. Mediapro had won the contract over Canal+, which had been broadcasting Ligue 1 matches for decades. Since then, relations between Canal+ and Ligue 1 have deteriorated significantly. Canal+ filed a lawsuit for damages against Ligue 1 and has repeatedly stated that it will not bail out French football from this crisis.
Consequences of breaking up With DAZN
Club shareholders, football executives and politicians have warned about severe repercussions if ties are severed with DAZN. Laurent Lafon, a French senator who co-led an inquiry into mismanagement within Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP), expressed concerns about smaller clubs going bust due to declining broadcast revenues.
There are fears that if negotiations fail completely with DAZN they may refuse to pay up the remaining €140 million owed for this season's broadcasts.
Private equity firm CVC steps in
Private equity firm CVC has a stake in the situation as it invested €1.5 billion in 2022 into a commercial entity co-owned by Ligue 1 that markets broadcast rights globally. The entity recently appointed veteran French TV executive Nicolas de Tavernost to resolve the ongoing issues. Canal+ boss Maxime Saada expressed optimism about de Tavernost's appointment, hinting at possible negotiations for Ligue 1 matches.
Canal+ boss, Maxime Saada, said:
“Having him at the negotiating table is a good way to make me reconsider the Ligue 1 issue. We can [have a] dialogue and I will do so. But that doesn’t mean that I will forget the damage committed against us in a previous contract,”
One potential solution is for Ligue 1 to launch its own channel, distributing games through online platforms and striking deals with broadcasters. However, this would require significant upfront capital investments which could exacerbate the financial strain on smaller clubs. François Godard, an analyst with Enders Analysis, warned that starting a channel from scratch carries inherent risks. As such, French football faces an uphill battle to secure its broadcasting future while ensuring the survival of its clubs.
