Neither Canal+, nor beIN Sports, nor Amazon, nor DAZN, nor RMC Sport, nor anyone: the LFP has found no broadcaster and the scenario of the creation of a 100% Ligue 1 channel is gaining ground. This would cost a whopping 30 euros per month, an economic model that raises questions.
The LFP (Professional Football League) and its president Vincent Labrune have still not found a broadcaster for the next Ligue 1 seasons. Negotiations with the audiovisual players present in France have all failed, and what was the solution extreme urgency just a few weeks ago now becomes the most likely option: the LFP will launch its own TV channel.
This Friday, June 21, 2024, LFP Media, the commercial company of the LFP, presented to the board of directors of the LFP its action plan to launch this project for an in-house channel exclusively dedicated to Ligue 1. The Team obtained a document revealing all the details of the business plan developed by LFP Media.
30 euros for Ligue 1, and that’s it
The price of the subscription would be 25 euros excluding tax per month, i.e. 30 euros monthly all taxes included. A price which would therefore only give access to Ligue 1 matches and a few magazines, pre-matches and debriefings. However, the LFP seems very optimistic about its power of attraction. She aims 2,072,500 subscribers in the first yearfor a turnover of 518 million euros (plus 10 million euros of estimated advertising revenue) and a profit of 418.8 million euros, which would therefore be used in particular to pay the clubs involved in the competition.
This channel would be active at least until 2029, the year for which the LFP hopes to reach 3.37 million subscribers, for revenues which would then reach 718 million euros. According to these forecasts, the channel would then report 578 million euros per year on average over the period 2024-2029.
A linear broadcast would take place from Friday evening at 7 p.m. until Sunday at midnight. The LFP is in contact with the main distributors: Bouygues Telecom, Free, Orange and SFR, as well as Molotov. Only Canal+, with which tensions are very tense, is missing, but the League is convinced that Canal will join the negotiating table. A mobile application is also in the works.
Currently, the LFP requests 500 million euros per year for five years to a third party broadcaster who would like to obtain the rights. The requirements have been seriously revised downwards, Vincent Labrune being convinced a few months ago that he could reach one billion euros by combining domestic rights and international rights (the latter expected to bring in around 160 million euros). 500 million euros is precisely the sum that DAZN proposed several months ago, during the call for tenders launched by the LFP. The proposal was refused, with the LFP thinking it would be able to obtain more during direct negotiations. Today, DAZN is taking advantage of the critical situation and has lowered its offer to around 400 million euros, which the LFP does not accept.
2 million subscribers in the first year, a crazy dream?
We are therefore heading straight towards this channel managed directly by the LFP. But at 30 euros per month, we very much doubt that it will manage to meet its subscriber objectives mentioned earlier. We remember that with 80% of Ligue 1 and a price of 25 euros per month, Mediapro’s Telefoot channel had never reached 500,000 subscribers. Realizing its error, Mediapro withdrew in the middle of the championship, four months after its launch.
For its part, Amazon, whose Ligue 1 Pass has just been discontinued, did not wish to position itself once again on the rights. The American giant had obtained those released by Mediapro, but failed to make its investment profitable. However, everyone agrees that the proposed experience was entirely qualitative. The Ligue 1 Pass would not have exceeded 1.7 million subscribers at its peak, despite a price of 14.99 euros per month (21.98 euros adding the Prime subscription, which gives access to the Prime Video catalog and to other advantages).
We therefore wonder why the leaders of the LFP communicate such ambitious figures with so much confidence. They believe that by offering 100% of Ligue 1, this channel will be essential for all French football fans, without taking into account the numerous sports piracy sites and IPTV.
Another hypothesis would be that the LFP is bluffing, trying to put pressure on the broadcasters to finally receive an offer that meets its expectations. It would be quite a gamble, and club presidents have already expressed their fears. Many Ligue 1 clubs are not able to recruit until the question of TV rights is resolved. The resumption of Ligue 1 was announced for August 18, 2024.
Source: The Team