Ligue 1 clubs dealt a massive blow as attempts to replace TV rights deal collapse after French football officials rejected bids from Amazon and DAZN to show matches – plunging struggling sides into crisis
- French football is facing a financial crisis after officials failed to agree a TV deal
- The LFP rejected bids from Amazon, DAZN and Discovery to show matches
- It has brought fears for strugglings sides in Ligue 1 as well as those in Ligue 2
French football clubs have been dealt a huge blow after the country’s governing body failed to agree a new TV rights deal – with cash-strapped sides now facing uncertain futures.
The LFP – the football association that runs Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 – have been in talks with a number of broadcasters for months to replace a major TV deal after Mediapro agreed to end their £2.75billion contract in December just four months in.
Canal+, which had shown matches in the top two divisions for several years, had been tipped to rescue clubs by pouncing on a cut-price deal of around £350-a-season – less than half of the original agreement. However, their offer was rejected and have since been involved in a legal dispute with the LFP.
French football has been plunged into crisis after a television rights deal collapsed
Mediapro cancelled £2.75bn deal in December, leaving the LFP scrambling for a replacement
Instead, Amazon, Discovery and DAZN have been vying for the rights – but the LFP said all bids had fallen below their asking price, saying it will discuss the what steps to take over the next 48 hours.
A statement from the organisation read: ‘Given that the reserve price has not been met, the consultations (bids) have been declared unsuccessful.
‘The LFP gives itself 48 hours to define the next steps to take in the commercialization of its rights.’
The LFP is already facing a legal dispute with long-time broadcaster Canal+ over the fiasco
It is believed the LFP were holding out for a deal of at least £260m a year in total from the offers submitted in order to keep French football afloat.
Mediapro’s deal should have offered security for clubs in Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 across four years, but now there are increasing fears that teams that were already left stricken by the Covid crisis could now go bust.
The Spanish-based firm had agreed to pay the LFP around £100million to relinquish its right to show games after it missed payments of £150m and £130m.
French football officials said none of the offers from Amazon or DAZN met their requirements
L’Equipe’s front page reads: ’48 hours to survive’ with clubs awaiting the LFP’s next move
Without a broadcasting deal in place, it could leave a huge gap in fortunes, with clubs such as PSG – heavily backed by wealthy Saudi owners – unlikely to be affected by the collapse of the TV deal.
L’Equipe’s front page read ’48 hours to survive’ – highlighting the grave situation as clubs anxiously wait for the LFP to make their next move.
Meanwhile, French telecoms operator Free, said on Tuesday it would continue to show France’s Ligue 1 games on smartphones until the end of the season, despite TV rights not having been reallocated for the time being.
‘The offer has been a great success and is now being extended until the end of the 2020/2021 season, to enable a constantly growing number of fans to discover the wealth of content associated with the service.’