DAZN, the global sports streaming service, has escalated its dispute with the LFP by demanding a media rights compensation fee of €573 million ($599.7 million) from the embattled French soccer league body, according to several media reports in France.
The OTT platform is requesting the huge fee claiming it has been duped by the LFP regarding the number of subscribers it hoped to gain when it acquired the rights to the top-flight Ligue 1.
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DAZN believes it is owed €264 million in compensation for a “breach” in the contract it initially signed with the LFP and is also demanding a further €309 million for what it claims is “market dishonesty.”
The streaming giant has reportedly grown tired of the LFP’s perceived lack of results in the fight against piracy. In addition, DAZN is also believed to be angry at Ligue 1 clubs for their limited help in giving the streamer editorial content.
As a result, the OTT platform only paid €35 million of TV rights money to Ligue 1 clubs this month when €70 million was expected to be distributed. The other €35 million have been frozen by DAZN.
With the LFP dragging its heels in response to the complaints, DAZN has taken legal steps and referred the organization to the Paris Commercial Court.
The LFP previously rejected DAZN’s allegations and filed a lawsuit with the commercial court in Paris for the broadcaster to pay its TV rights money share in full.
According to major French newspaper L’Équipe, DAZN, which picked up Ligue 1 rights in a highly contentious bidding saga in mid-2024, is 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.
L’Équipe adds that this dispute has the legs to drag on for years, summarizing that because DAZN initiated legal action, it is desperate to recoup its losses that run into the multi-millions.
The broadcaster 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.
With DAZN not paying its full rights fee, the LFP was forced to withdraw funds from its cash reserves to pay Ligue 1 clubs to make up the shortfall.
The saga has sent the LFP into crisis as it scrambles to maintain the flow of money to its member clubs, who have suffered financially in recent years due to the league’s mismanagement of broadcast deals.
The tender process for the 2024-29 cycle was catastrophic and hugely damaging for the league, as it tanked its domestic broadcast rights outlook by overestimating the value of its package and almost bankrupted several clubs such was the effect of the delayed tender results.
The LFP burnt a bridge with one of its primary broadcasters, Canal Plus, which refused to participate in the tender process for this season due to a long-running dispute with the league over their previous rights deals.
This season is the first time since the formation of Canal Plus in 1984 that the French broadcasting heavyweight is not airing live Ligue 1 matches.
As well as DAZN (eight matches per game week), Ligue 1 action is shown domestically by BeIN Sports (one game), through a deal that began at the start of this season.
GlobalData Sport understands that BeIN is up to date with its LFP payments and has made all payments related to the media rights.
