French football still in the dark
As you know, the Sino-Spanish company Mediapro had acquired the big chunk of the rights to Ligue1 from 2020 to 2024 for 830 million per year (+ Ligue 2). The Téléfoot channel was born for the occasion. But quickly, the leaders realized that their “business model” did not hold water since for this colossal sum, a subscriber base was needed that Canal + or beIN never reached in previous years.
Especially since Téléfoot has only football to offer: with a price of 25 € / month, it would have taken 7 times more subscribers than the channel currently has. In short, it’s fucked up from the start and we wonder how the Professional Football League (LFP) could have let that go … but that’s another story.
The LFP alone responsible for the debacle
We know what follows: Mediapro made a first payment and then nothing. Officially because of COVID (he has a good back that one). The company will therefore return the rights and the LFP will reallocate them to the highest bidder to prevent the clubs, already without a ticket office, from going bankrupt. But this situation does not appeal to everyone. Canal +, which had obtained the rights to 20% of Ligue 1 with two matches per day (through beIN which sold it), is not delighted with this situation.
Indeed, the crypto channel paid 332 million euros and of course the account is not good for them. Canal wants a reallocation of all the prizes, including his. According to them, Ligue 1 has lost its value and their prize is no longer worth the money they spent. And then after all, if Mediapro disengages in this way… why couldn’t it do it? With the approach of OM-PSG on February 7, it is absolute vagueness on Ligue 1.
Canal + could win its showdown …
The encrypted channel also appealed to the LFP on this point before the Paris Commercial Court, which set a hearing on February 19. The offers were made yesterday (February 1), but neither Canal + nor beIN was present. No more than TF1, M6, Orange, France Télévision or RMC Sport. Only three players have shown interest: Amazon (which should start from scratch: studios, journalists…), Discovery (Eurosport) and the English DAZN (the “Netflix of sport”). The only problem is that none of the proposals reached the reserve price. Could Canal + win its showdown? Ha yes, we also forget IKF TV which made an offer of 156 €. Pay your buzz.
🚨🚨First candidate for French football tv rights: @IKF_officiel !! Received by the @LFPfr with delivery of an official receipt ⬇️⬇️. Amount offered: 156 €. Nice effort! Meet tonight in the @Moscato_Show ! @RMCsport #TV Rights pic.twitter.com/9EwOV12frY
– Loïc Briley (@loicbriley) February 1, 2021
In the meantime, it is the Téléfoot channel which wins the stake sincethey continue to broadcast without having paid. Surrealist. And after the football players come to complain after the piracy and the IPTV which explodes of course …
Faced with this debacle, one may wonder why the LFP absolutely wants to impose this system of “prizes” where a show is cut into pieces. Imagine having the beginning of a film on Netflix and the end on Canal +… Why not impose a more flexible model with a single broadcaster? Or a “pass” to only see the matches of his team? We would go to Saïd to see PSG matches and to Jean-Mich to see OM. And even if Nantes has less subscription, no big deal: we put everything in a box and we share as before, depending on the results.
So there you have it, Android-MT has solved the problem. You’re welcome.
Source: Point
