Canal+, historic broadcaster of Ligue 1, will not participate in the call for tenders concerning television rights to the French championship for the period 2024-2029, it announced on Monday September 25 to Agence France-Presse , confirming information from The Team.
Live television broadcast rights were priced at 800 million euros per season by the Professional Football League (LFP) on September 12. Candidates have until October 16 to position themselves.
In a letter, that The Team was able to consult, the president of Canal+, Maxime Saada, wrote his disappointment. “When Mediapro failed to fulfill its commitments with losses and clashes in 2020, and despite the rupture linked to the 2018 call for tenders, Canal+ immediately volunteered to strengthen its support for the LFP by paying nearly 40 million euros more than his initial commitment for the season »he explains.
“ Even today, Canal+ remains the main financier of Ligue 1, far ahead of its other broadcaster, Amazon. (…). But it is clear that our relations with the LFP have deteriorated significantly over the years. », laments Maxime Saada, looking back on the 2021 episode.
“Insinuations of particular gravity”
The leaders of the LFP ended up responding at the end of the day in a press release in which they “regrets(nt) » the decision of Canal+ and denounce “statements or insinuations (…) of particular gravity”.
This remark highlights the most scathing passage in Mr. Saada’s letter, which envisages that the LFP is targeting “failure” of its process to “free from the legal constraint of a call for applications in order to be able to once again negotiate directly and under perfectly opaque conditions the allocation of rights”.
Mr. Saada finally criticizes the League for having leaked The Team the amounts proposed by Canal+ for the call for tenders in June 2021. “The confidentiality thus violated allowed Amazon” to get “80% of matches at low prices”he continues, accusing the League: “You have constantly penalized Canal+. »
In June 2021, Amazon broke into French football by obtaining the broadcasting rights to 80% of Ligue 1 matches. The encrypted channel, holder of two posters acquired in 2018 for 332 million euros each season, estimated its share overvalued and wanted, for its part, a new redistribution of prizes and matches in connection with its ally BeIN Sports.