Canal + ordered to broadcast two matches per day, under penalty of a fine of one million euros per day of delay

The Canal + channel finally decided, Thursday August 5, to broadcast two matches of the first day of the French Ligue 1 championship, after being condemned by the commercial court to respect the contract between the French group and BeIN Sports on a part of the television rights of the football competition.

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According to corroborating sources from the World, justice condemned the channel to respect the subcontract signed with BeIN Sports, which had obtained the “lot 3” of the television rights of the football competition, in 2018, before sub-licensing it to Canal +. A purchase of 332 million euros, which has not been renegotiated since, which ulcerates the two broadcasters since Amazon managed to pocket the rights to 80% of the matches against only 250 million euros annually.

The departure of the Sino-Spanish group Mediapro, unable to pay the sums it had committed to pay in 2018, as well as the consequences of the health crisis on the attractiveness of the French championship make Canal + and BeIN Sports say that paying such an amount today is both discriminatory and abusive.

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A few days before the first meeting, which must oppose Troyes to Paris-Saint-Germain, on Saturday, the Professional Football League (LFP) had decided to sue BeIN Sports in summary proceedings in court, in order to force the group to respect its contract concerning “lot 3”, and to put pressure on Canal +. On Wednesday, the commercial court went in the direction of the proceedings for the first time, encouraging BeIN to immediately initiate a new appeal, supported by the LFP, to bend Canal +.

“Unfair treatment” from the LFP for Canal +

Called to rule urgently on this second summary, the justice therefore decided that Canal + had to perform its subcontracting contract with BeIN Sports, broadcast the first Ligue 1 match on Saturday, followed by a second (Metz-Lille , Sunday) and pay the first payment of rights to the LFP, in the amount of 68 million euros. Any delay in the execution of the contract will be penalized with a daily fine of one million euros.

The channel announced that it wanted to appeal a few minutes after the judgment, but it should not, a priori, suspend the decision. “While the Canal + Group will have to pay the equivalent of 332 million euros per season to broadcast two games per day, Amazon will broadcast eight, including the ten best posters of the season, for 250 million euros, an amount almost six times lower per match ”, regretted the Vivendi subsidiary in a press release, pointing to a “Unfair treatment” from the LFP. Canal + then decided, according to our information, to broadcast the two meetings.

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This scenario is ideal in the short term for clubs and the LFP, but the reaction of Canal + underlines that the legal dispute is not over. All the more so as other procedures are underway: BeIN Sports has, in parallel, sued the League with the judicial tribunal of Paris, with a view to having the “Lapse” of the allocation of the lot. The proceedings on the merits will not be opened until November.

The World with AFP