Italian soccer's top-tier Serie A has finally secured a media rights tie-up for the 2024-25 campaign in France. The league, which began in mid-August, had not been available to view in France until now.
The two-year deal was unveiled on October 28th and grants the L’Equipe subscription channel live rights to two of the league’s ten fixtures per matchday. Additionally, it provides highlights rights for all matches throughout the duration of the deal. This is a significant development as France had been one of the major markets where Serie A hadn't yet secured a rights deal despite being ten rounds into its 2024-25 campaign.
Last season and throughout the entire 2021-24 cycle, French coverage of Serie A matches was provided by BeIN Sports pay-TV broadcaster. According to GlobalData Sport, this partnership was valued at approximately $42.6 million.
Prominent French players in Serie A
One notable French player currently participating in Serie A is Marcus Thuram who plays for Inter Milan, last season's champions.
Serie A has significantly altered its approach towards finding broadcast partners for its next cycle. Previously, most rights were held by Infront agency; however, now they are conducting a large portion of negotiations directly with broadcasters across various markets.
During their last cycle (2021-24), overseas broadcast rights reportedly brought just over $650 million across three seasons to the Italian League.
Recent significant rights deals
One recent significant deal includes a five-year agreement with SportyTV covering Africa that ensures free-to-air coverage in Nigeria and Ghana along with English and Portuguese-speaking countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. This arrangement also allows SportyTV to sublicense these rights to 20 other countries. Domestically, Serie A will be covered by DAZN and pay-TV’s Sky Italia for the next five seasons.
In addition to Serie A, L’Equipe also holds rights for Copa del Rey and DFB-Pokal matches. Earlier this month, they announced Vincent Broussard as the new general manager of their TV division.
This deal with L'Equipe marks a significant step in Serie A's efforts to expand its global reach. It not only provides French fans access to one of Europe's top soccer leagues but also enhances the league's visibility in a key European market.
