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French football runs to find new distribution arrangements due to a bitter dispute with the existing media partner Dazn, threatening more financial pain for clubs and undergoing the position of the country's top league.
Dazn, based in the United Kingdom, said that he would not respect his five-year contract with Ligue 1, although he is only the first year, because he loses money and has failed to attract enough subscribers.
He also blame the clubs to have deprived him of access to players and games to make the subscription product attractive, as well as not to fight against hacking.
Mediation between the League and Dazn broke down last week.
Ligue 1, which is the fifth largest league in Europe in terms of club income, has been in an almost permanent crisis since 2020, when its broadcasters at the time, Mediapro, went bankrupt during the coronavirus pandemic.
The British group won the contract against the French paid television operator Canal +, who was the broadcaster of the League for decades before being thrown for Mediapp.
Since then, relations between the League, which has been dominated by Paris Saint-Germain, and Canal + have been broken down with the chain fileing a complaint for damages. Canal + has repeatedly warned that he did not intend to save French football.
The shareholders of the club, the football leaders and a main politician, who co-a co-a made an overwhelming investigation into the mismanagement of the league's business model, warned the serious consequences of a break with Dazn.
French senator Laurent Lafon told Financial Times that Professional Football League, which exploits the two best levels of football, was on a “cliff” with smaller clubs at risk of driving due to the drop in broadcasting income. Some league leaders fear that Dazn will not pay the remaining 140 million euros he owes for this season.
“It will be a very, very difficult route in front of the league,” said Lafon. “There will be few alternatives for a broadcasting agreement after Dazn.”
The CVC capital-investment company is involved because in 2022, it invested 1.5 billion euros in a commercial entity in co-ownership by the League which markets the diffusion rights worldwide. This entity recently hired a French TV veteran Nicolas de Tavernost to solve problems.
Canal + Boss Maxime Saada welcomed the rental in an interview this week with the French newspaper the team.
“Having it at the negotiating table is a good way to have me reconsidering the problem of League 1. We can (have) a dialogue and I will do it. But that does not mean that I will forget the damage committed against us in a previous contract,” he said.
An option is the launch of the Ligue's own channel with games distributed via online platforms and treats with broadcasters, say that people familiar with the situation.
However, such a project would not solve the immediate crisis in cash in some of the small clubs because it would require initial capital investments.
François Godard, analyst in Enders analysis, added that the start of a channel from zero was risky.
“If the league wanted to launch its own channel, I think it's a dead end. You will end up doing contracts with Canal + and Dazn to distribute it, so it's back to the box in the box,” he said. “And it's not a business in which you are good as a league.”
Others always hope to repair relations with Canal +, people said.
“There is nothing desperate or intended for the failure of this whole situation,” said a person involved in the league. “But it will take two years of pain to put the French football house back in order.” The person added: “I think it is possible to repair things with Canal +.”
Dazn belongs to the majority by Sir Leonard Blavatnik, one of the richest men in the world. The company has accumulated a range of sports rights and has extended to several countries, but its move in French football has disappointed.
The company, sold A minority participation in an investment company belonging to the Sovereign Heritage Fund for Saudi Arabia in February, will project the FIFA club World Cup this summer.
Dazn refused to comment. Canal + did not immediately respond to a request for comments.
The League said that a solution would be found and that there would be no game of matches next season.
