The Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP), the governing body of French soccer, has taken legal action against global streaming service DAZN for unpaid rights fees. This move marks the latest chapter in an ongoing media rights crisis that threatens to damage the relationship between the LFP and its main broadcast partner in France.
DAZN is understood to have paid only half of the domestic TV rights money owed to top-flight Ligue 1 clubs this month. In response, the LFP convened an emergency meeting with presidents from all 18 clubs in order to address what it deemed an "urgent" situation.
Following this meeting, a statement was issued by the organization stating: “The LFP has taken note of DAZN's unfounded refusal to honour its financial commitments." The league intends to take legal action against DAZN and hopes for a temporary resolution while firmly defending French professional clubs' interests. Currently, both DAZN and BeIN Sports broadcast Ligue 1 matches domestically through a deal worth approximately $550 million annually. However, these agreements were only finalized after a lengthy negotiation process just weeks before kick-off of the 2024-25 season.
Reasons behind non-payment
French outlet L’Equipe reports that dissatisfaction with perceived lack of results in combating piracy and limited assistance from clubs in providing editorial content are among reasons why DAZN withheld payment. As such, only €35 million ($36.5 million) out of expected €70 million was paid this month; leaving half frozen by DAZN. In response to these allegations, however, the LFP filed a lawsuit at Paris commercial court demanding full payment from broadcaster.
A hearing is scheduled for February 14th whereupon it is anticipated that DAZN will complete the fourth installment of its contract with LFP. The court's decision is expected in the following week.
Brice Daumin, managing director of DAZN France, said:
“In mid-December, we approached the LFP with an action plan aimed at better protecting our exclusivity, combating piracy, and gaining improved support from clubs to enhance the appeal of the Ligue 1 offering for our subscribers. However, we never received a response from them. Therefore, on February 5, we remitted half of the amount due, €35 million, while placing the remaining €35 million in escrow pending a reply from the LFP, hoping to trigger a necessary response.”
“Nothing gets resolved in court. The league was supposed to get back to us by January 6 but failed to do so. Over the past two months, DAZN, the LFP's largest partner, has received no communication despite numerous follow-ups.”
Piracy concerns and insufficient cooperation
DAZN cited challenging operational conditions, partly due to piracy issues and insufficient cooperation from certain clubs in promoting the Ligue 1 product, as reasons for not paying the full rights fee. A recent report commissioned by LFP found that 37% of those who watched Ligue 1 action in 2024-25 did so illegally, seemingly validating DAZN’s concerns.
BeIN Sports has also withheld its rights fee payments to the LFP on several occasions this season. Despite eventually making payments after delays, there are still lingering issues between Qatar-based operator BeIN and the LFP regarding their contract's particulars. This dispute follows a previous fallout between Canal Plus and the LFP over their past rights deals which led to Canal Plus refusing to participate in this season's tender process. This marks first time since Canal Plus' formation in 1984 that it isn't airing live Ligue 1 matches.
The tender process for upcoming seasons was disastrous for the league as it significantly devalued its domestic broadcast rights package and nearly bankrupted several clubs due to delayed results.
