LFP Media, the commercial subsidiary of French soccer's LFP league organizer, has successfully secured a deal with FIFA to broadcast the upcoming 2026 World Cup on its in-house streaming service, Ligue 1+. This move is set to diversify their offerings and fill the gap between seasons with international soccer's flagship tournament.
Nicolas de Tavernost, CEO of LFP Media, confirmed this landmark deal at a recent meeting of teams from both leagues. The agreement grants exclusive rights to broadcast all 104 games of the tournament on their platform. This includes the simulcast of 54 games already held by free-to-air commercial network M6.
The decision comes after a previous broadcasting agreement with DAZN collapsed. Now, all domestic rights for League 1 are housed within their own streaming service.
According to French sports news outlet L’Equipe, acquiring these rights will cost the organization €20 million ($23.94 million). This sum includes €18 million for securing broadcasting rights and an additional €2 million allocated towards production costs.
Anticipated high viewership
The World Cup is set to take place across sixteen host cities in North America from June 11th through July 19th. Given France’s impressive performance during the last edition in which they reached finals and generated record-breaking viewership numbers (an average of 25 million viewers), expectations are high for similar success in terms of audience engagement during this upcoming event.
This strategic move by LFP Media aims at retaining subscribers during what would typically be considered an off-season period for league-specific direct-to-consumer offerings. This marks a significant milestone as it represents the first external rights deal secured by Ligue 1+. It also signals a potential shift in strategy for the streaming service, which may need to diversify its content to attract more viewers and compensate for the revenue shortfall resulting from cancelled media rights agreements.
Ligue 1+ was launched in mid-July 2025 with an annual subscription fee of €14.99 ($17.66) per month or a non-committal monthly tier at $19.99 per month. As of September 2025, it had over one million subscribers, with approximately 72% opting for the annual package.
Despite this early success, LFP Media faces challenges ahead as they may need to triple or even quadruple their current subscriber base or significantly increase subscription prices to match income from previous media rights cycles. This new deal represents an exciting development for both LFP Media and sports fans alike. By securing World Cup broadcasting rights, Ligue 1+ is set to provide comprehensive coverage of one of soccer's most prestigious tournaments while simultaneously diversifying its offerings and potentially attracting a larger audience base.
