French soccer’s LFP governing body has officially confirmed its domestic broadcast mix for the 2024-28 media rights cycle after its board of directors approved deals with pay-TV broadcaster BeIN Sports and international OTT streaming service DAZN.
DAZN will pay €400 million ($436.4 million) per season for eight out of the nine games in each round, whilst Qatar-based BeIN will show the top fixture each week, or the second biggest game every other round for €100 million per year.
In its official announcement, the LFP also revealed that there are “significant achievable bonuses” inserted into its deal with DAZN including an automatic €50 million payout to the league should the service hit 1.5 million subscribers in the country, alongside “flexible exit clauses” to help insure the league should it find the deal dissatisfactory in the future.
This reportedly includes a break clause should DAZN fail to amass 1.5 million subscribers.
BeIN’s partnership, meanwhile, also comprises a sponsorship component that makes up around €20 million of the €100 million fee.
The broadcaster said in its own statement: "BeIN SPORTS is pleased to have been appointed an official broadcast partner of McDonald’s Ligue 1 in France. This continues our trusted and dedicated support of men’s and women’s French football dating back to 2012, providing the best content to our valued subscribers in France and around the world.
"In addition to Ligue 1, we are particularly proud to support and promote all levels of men’s and women’s French football across the pyramid, including our investment in Ligue 2 rights, our acquisition of international rights, our broadcasting of women’s football including the Women’s French Cup, and our community programmes such as beIN Squad supporting grassroots football across the country."
With Ligue 1 set to kick off on August 18, BeIN finished: "We look forward to another successful season of French football beginning later this month.”
The LFP revealed that other parties had submitted bids for the rights, but that the two winning broadcasters were selected due to their “long-term commitment and their intention to offer attractive content, thus demonstrating their confidence in the quality and growth dynamics of Ligue 1.”
Speaking on the announcement, LFP president Vincent LaBrune stated: “The negotiations were intense because we wanted to reach agreements that would meet the interests of all clubs and that would allow French soccer to continue its development and increase its attractiveness.”
The LFP’s negotiations were protracted over several months and put the future of French soccer in doubt due to the body’s inability to quickly secure an adequate media rights agreement, partially driven by the body’s hubris when naming its price.
Conrad Wiacek, head of analysis and consulting at Sportcal (GlobalData Sport), explained earlier in July: “The Ligue 1 rights deal highlights an embarrassing fall from grace for the French league. When going to market, the stated aim was to negotiate a deal worth at least $1 billion for media rights to French soccer.
“However, following the collapse of the Mediapro deal and the unwillingness of the LFP to renegotiate its deal with Canal Plus following the shortened Covid season, the LFP essentially backed itself into a corner by alienating most of its media partners.
“With the likes of Amazon unwilling to come to the rescue of French soccer given its change in strategy, along with the departure of a host of stars such as Kylian Mbappe and Neymar, the need for the LFP to strike a deal ahead of the new season from a position of weakness meant that the body had to settle for a fee well below its stated target price."
