Main broadcaster of Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 since 2021 (after the premature abandonment of Mediapro), Amazon will not relaunch its “Ligue 1 Pass” in the coming seasons. The retail giant could abandon French football or simply relay the signal from the future broadcaster.
In August 2021, Amazon had become the savior of French football. With its Ligue 1 Pass at 12.99 euros per month (an option on top of the Amazon Prime subscription), the retail and streaming giant had recovered, for three seasons, the rights abandoned by Mediapro and its Telefoot channel. After a year of transition in 2021 on Canal+, eight out of ten matches landed on Prime Video for 250 million euros per season.
Three years later, Ligue 1 has, a priori, not had the effect hoped for by Amazon. The web giant would have lost 130 million euros per season due to excessively high operating costs and growth which quickly stopped. Unsurprisingly, Amazon is not a candidate for its own succession. Ligue 1 is an interesting loss leader but, without Léo Messi or Kylian Mbappé, does not deserve such a large investment.
As reported The Team, Amazon formalized the discontinuation of its Ligue 1 Pass on June 18 “in its current form”. Paid subscription will not return.
Can Amazon keep football despite everything?
“Following the end of the 2023-2024 season and due to the end of the current cycle of broadcast rights for Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 by Prime Video, the Le Pass Ligue 1 channel will no longer be available in its current form on the service as of June 19, 2024 »indicates Amazon by email to its annual and monthly subscribers, which it has not collected for several weeks. “The future broadcaster(s) for the next Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 season are not yet known. We invite you to stay tuned via our networks »adds the company.
Is the company opening the door to comeback of the Ligue 1 Pass? It’s unlikely. According to the latest rumors, due to the lack of a broadcaster, the LFP (Professional Football League) is considering launching its own application at 25 euros per month, with the risk of losing a lot of money. Amazon could position itself as a distributor of this paid subscription, but should not take over the management of production and editorial content. Everything will depend on the progress of discussions with BeIn and Canal+ who, in a position of strength over the LFP, have been putting obstacles in its way for several months.
The web giant could also co-distribute some large posters if the LFP opens the door to this sharing system, as it occasionally does in the United Kingdom.
After three years in French football, Amazon’s results should not reassure potential future broadcasters. Apple notably declined this idea while DAZN, the sports streaming giant, finds the prices requested by the LFP much too high to comment. The future is unclear for Ligue 1 and Ligue 2, while even a giant like Amazon has not managed to find its account.
Do you want to know everything about the mobility of tomorrow, from electric cars to e-bikes? Subscribe now to our Watt Else newsletter!