three questions on the model of Amazon in France, after the attribution of 80% of the matches to the American group

The arrival of Amazon shook the French audiovisual landscape by winning 80% of the matches of the Ligue 1 championship. “It’s the chef’s surprise. And the empowerment of “over the top” services who go through the Internet on traditional channels, which use terrestrial channels ”, considers Nicolas Rotkoff, formerly responsible for sports rights at Altice and advisor for the DAZN Ligue 1 call for tenders, a sort of “sports Netflix”.

According to our information, the Professional Football League contacted the digital giant three weeks ago, estimating that Canal + had lowered its fixed offer to 530 million euros, well below the 600 million claimed by the League. “Our offer has always been the same with a fixed part and a variable part”, do we dispute at Canal +. Amazon had already applied in February’s unsuccessful tender, but only on the top ten posters. The American company was convinced by the League that there was a blow to play by buying all the matches of the ephemeral Mediapro, finally won at a broken price (250 million against 780 for the Spaniard). Amazon has never bought sports rights of such magnitude. This breakthrough is already attracting questions, especially about its model, which is different from that of other broadcasters.

What will be the visibility of French football?

The exposure of matches is crucial for Ligue 1 clubs, because it determines sponsorship, or 21.7% of their revenue in 2018-2019 (414 million euros). Brands that pay to appear on jerseys or on the pitch want to be seen.

Article reserved for our subscribers Read also French football chooses Amazon, Canal + slams the door

Some – including Canal + – question Amazon’s ability to reach a large audience. “The extremely low audience figures for Roland-Garros on Amazon push the risk of invisibility into Ligue 1,” wrote on Saturday June 12 in The team Vincent Duluc, journalist specializing in football. A third of French households receive television via TNT or satellite, and therefore do not have access to the Prime Video service on their television. As for Internet providers, it is only preinstalled on the most recent boxes of Orange, Bouygues, SFR or Free.

But in the League, we retort that “100% of homes are connected to the Internet, and 70% of televisions are connected”. And Amazon assured Friday that it was “Encouraged by the reception that the broadcast of Roland-Garros received from our subscribers”. “Like any new broadcaster, the platform is expected around the corner but, points out a connoisseur of the market, it is not starting from scratch like Mediapro. “ Amazon would already have “9 to 11 million subscribers to its Prime loyalty service in France”, according to a source.

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