French soccer’s LFP governing body has taken legal action against global streaming service DAZN over unpaid rights fees for this season as the league goes to war with another broadcast partner.
It is understood that DAZN has only paid half of the domestic TV rights money top-flight Ligue 1 clubs were owed this month.
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This major development, which is now set to be played out in court, represents the latest saga in French soccer’s media rights crisis, which is likely to cause significant damage to the LFP’s relationship with its main broadcast partner in France.
The body called an emergency meeting yesterday with the presidents of the 18 Ligue 1 club to discuss the situation which it deemed “urgent”.
In a statement issued after that meeting, the organization said: “The LFP has taken note of DAZN's unfounded refusal to honour its financial commitments.
“The LFP, for its part, scrupulously respects all of its contractual commitments and will do everything possible to assert its rights. In particular, the LFP has decided to refer the matter to the interim relief judge in order to obtain, as a matter of urgency, an order against DAZN to pay the sums stipulated in the contract and an injunction to perform all of its contractual obligations.
“The LFP intends to firmly defend the interests of French professional clubs, while hoping for an amicable outcome to this dispute, which it hopes will be temporary.”
Ligue 1 action is currently shown domestically by both DAZN (eight matches per game week) and BeIN Sports (one game), through a deal that began at the start of this season.
The agreements are worth around $550 million annually, with DAZN paying the vast majority. However, they were only struck following a painfully long process which was resolved just weeks before the start of the 2024-25 season.
French outlet L’Equipe reports that DAZN has grown tired of LFP’s perceived lack of results in the fight against piracy. In addition, DAZN is also reportedly 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 ($36.5 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.
The LFP has 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.
A hearing is scheduled for Friday (February 14), coinciding with the date DAZN is expected to complete the fourth installment of its contract with the LFP, with the court's decision anticipated in the following week.
In response to the LFP’s suit, DAZN explained its stance, citing challenging operational conditions, partly due to piracy issues and insufficient cooperation from certain clubs in promoting the Ligue 1 product, for not paying the full rights fee.
Brice Daumin, managing director of DAZN France, said: “In mid-December, we approached the LFP with an action plan aimed at better protecting our exclusivity, combating piracy, and gaining improved support from clubs to enhance the appeal of the Ligue 1 offering for our subscribers.
“However, we never received a response from them. Therefore, on February 5, we remitted half of the amount due, €35 million, while placing the remaining €35 million in escrow pending a reply from the LFP, hoping to trigger a necessary response.”
On the LFP’s lawsuit, Daumin stated: “Nothing gets resolved in court. The league was supposed to get back to us by January 6 but failed to do so. Over the past two months, DAZN, the LFP's largest partner, has received no communication despite numerous follow-ups.”
A recent report into digital streaming piracy, commissioned by the LFP, seemed to back up DAZN’s concerns as it was found that 37% of those who have watched Ligue 1 action in 2024-25 have done so illegally.
The LFP delivered the report to the Arcom audiovisual and digital regulator, with LFP Media’s chief executive general director Benjamin Morel (who is stepping down this year) describing the situation as “an ultra-priority subject [and] a very worrying subject.”
GlobalData Sport understands that BeIN is up to date with its LFP payments and has made all payments related to the media rights.
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.
The tender process for the 2024-29 cycle was catastrophic and hugely damaging for the LFP, 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.
