A period of mediation between the LFP (French men’s soccer’s league governing body) and DAZN, the main domestic broadcaster for the top-tier of soccer in that country, has reportedly been extended.
The deadline to end mediation between the two parties, initially scheduled for March 31, has now been pushed back to April 10 (next Thursday), according to reports. If an agreement between the two parties – over the value of DAZN’s contract covering live top-division Ligue 1 soccer, which started this season – is not reached by that time, legal recourse will have to be sought.
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The mediation is taking place in the Paris Commercial Court, having begun at the start of March.
The overall issue dates back to earlier this season, with DAZN having failed to pay half of a rights fee installment of around €70 million that was originally due in January – it ended up only being paid in late February.
The streamer withheld €35 million worth of funds in January citing challenging operational conditions, partly due to piracy issues and insufficient cooperation from certain clubs in promoting the Ligue 1 product and failing to provide editorial content.
At that time, it was reported that DAZN, which picked up Ligue 1 rights in a highly contentious bidding saga in mid-2024, was convinced that LFP did not give the broadcaster’s executives all the required elements regarding the marketing distribution of the league prior to signing a €375 million-per-year rights deal.
When the payments were eventually fulfilled in late February (following legal proceedings being initiated by the LFP), it was disclosed at that point that more mediation would be undertaken – the deadline for that to conclude is now what has been extended.
It has been reported that discussions between the two parties are now intensifying, and that the extension is in order for more constructive talks between DAZN and the LFP to take place.
In terms of DAZN's concerns over piracy, an LFP-backed report late last year seemed to back up DAZN’s concerns, as it was found that 37% of those who had watched Ligue 1 action during the first few months of 2024-25 had done so illegally.
The Ligue 1 media rights saga that engulfed the summer of 2024 was disastrous, and as many as eight Ligue 2 clubs were said to be at risk of bankruptcy had a deal not been reached. The LFP tanked its domestic broadcast rights outlook by overestimating the value of its package, resulting in this season marking the first time since 1984 that French broadcasting heavyweight Canal Plus is not airing live Ligue 1 matches.
Ligue 1 action is currently shown domestically by both DAZN (eight matches per game week) and BeIN Sports (one game) through a deal that was only signed off a few weeks before the season began.
The agreements are worth around $550 million annually, with DAZN paying the vast majority.
DAZN has previously stated it needs 1.5 million subscribers to break even on the deal, however, numbers are understood to be well below that figure.
During the time when DAZN was withholding its funding for the LFP, that body was forced to dip into its cash reserves to pay clubs in its top-flight Ligue 1 to make up the shortfall.
