A first in history. Canal, historic broadcaster of Ligue 1, will not participate in the call for tenders for television rights to the French championship for the period 2024-2029, it announced on Monday September 25 to Agence France-Presse , confirming information from L’Equipe.
Live television broadcast rights were priced at €800 million per season by the Professional Football League (LFP) on September 12. Candidates have until October 16 to position themselves.
In a letter, which L’Equipe was able to consult, the president of Canal, Maxime Saada, wrote of his disappointment. “When Mediapro failed to meet its commitments with losses and clashes in 2020, and despite the rupture linked to the 2018 call for tenders, Canal immediately volunteered to strengthen its support for the LFP by paying nearly 40 million euros more than his initial commitment for the season,” he explains.
“Even today, Canal remains the main financier of Ligue 1, far ahead of its other broadcaster, Amazon (…). But it is clear that our relations with the LFP have deteriorated significantly over the years. », laments Maxime Saada, looking back on the 2021 episode.
In June 2021, Amazon broke into French football by obtaining the broadcasting rights to 80% of Ligue 1 matches. The encrypted channel, holder of two posters acquired in 2018 for 332 million euros each season, estimated its share overvalued and wanted, for its part, a new redistribution of prizes and matches in connection with its ally BeIN Sports.
“After the failure of the choice of Mediapro in 2018, Canal regrets the decision of the Professional Football League to today retain Amazon’s proposal to the detriment of that of its historic partners, Canal and BeIN Sports. Canal will therefore not broadcast Ligue 1,” the encrypted television group (a subsidiary of Vivendi) announced in a press release.
